West Columbia man charged with four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor

Posted 2/20/23

A West Columbia man is accused of possessing child sexual abuse material.

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West Columbia man charged with four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor

Posted

A West Columbia man is accused of possessing child sexual abuse material.

The state Attorney General’s Office announced the Feb. 13 arrest of Simon Manuel Gates, 29, after an investigation by the office’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which included investigators from the Lexington County Sheriff's Department.

The arrest came after investigators received a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the Attorney General’s Office reports in a release that Gates possessed multiple files of child sexual abuse material.

Gates is charged with four counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, a felony that is punishable by up to 10 years in prison on each count.

The Attorney General’s Office will prosecute the case.

*Child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, is a more accurate reflection of the material involved in these heinous and abusive crimes,” the release states. “‘Pornography’ can imply the child was a consenting participant. Globally, the term child pornography is being replaced by CSAM for this reason.”

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