South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has announced the arrest of Joseph Daniel Headrick, a 35-year-old resident of Waynesville, North Carolina. Headrick faces three charges related to the attempted sexual exploitation of a minor. The arrest was made by Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators from the Greenville Police Department. The investigation also involved assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service and the Waynesville Police Department.
According to investigators, Headrick solicited an individual he believed to be a minor for sex, encouraged them to produce child sexual abuse material, and sent sexually explicit images to someone he thought was a minor.
Headrick was taken into custody on October 11, 2024. He is charged with one count of criminal solicitation of a minor, which is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison; one count of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor in the first degree, carrying a potential sentence of up to 20 years; and one count of attempted dissemination of obscene material to someone under eighteen, which could result in up to 10 years imprisonment.
The Attorney General's Office will prosecute this case. Attorney General Wilson emphasized that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
The term "child sexual abuse material" (CSAM) is used instead of "child pornography" because it more accurately describes the nature of these crimes without implying consent from minors.