South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Kevin Dewayne Costley, 31, of North Augusta, S.C., and Taz Michael Johnson, 27, of Lexington, S.C. on 10 total charges connected to the attempted sexual exploitation of minors. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Lexington Police Department made the arrests in these unrelated cases. Investigators with the U.S. Marshals Service, also a member of the state's ICAC Task Force, assisted with these investigations.
Investigators state Johnson solicited a person he believed to be a minor for sex, encouraged them to produce child sexual abuse material, and sent sexually explicit images to a person he believed to be a minor. Investigators state Costley solicited a person he believed to be a minor for sex and sent them sexually explicit images.
Johnson was arrested on February 21, 2024. He is charged with two counts of criminal solicitation of a minor (§16-15-342), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count; one count of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, first degree (§16-15-395), a felony offense punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment; and two counts of attempted dissemination of obscene material to a person under age eighteen (§16-15-345), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count.
Costley was arrested on February 16, 2024. He is charged with three counts of criminal solicitation of a minor (§16-15-342), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count; and two counts of attempted dissemination of obscene material to a person under age eighteen (§16-15-345), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count.
These cases will be prosecuted by the Attorney General's Office.
Attorney General Wilson stressed all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.
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