South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Louis Alfonso Mouhteros, Jr., a 19-year-old resident of West Columbia. Mouhteros faces two charges related to the sexual exploitation of minors. The Lexington County Sheriff's Department's Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators conducted the arrest, with assistance from the Attorney General's Office.
The investigation began after a CyberTipline report was received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which led authorities to Mouhteros. According to investigators, he is accused of distributing files containing child sexual abuse material.
Mouhteros was taken into custody on October 17, 2024. He has been charged with two counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor under section §16-15-405, a felony that carries a potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison for each count.
The case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General's Office. In his statement, Attorney General Wilson emphasized that "all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law."
The term child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is used instead of "pornography" because it more accurately describes these crimes without implying consent by the minors involved. This terminology shift reflects global efforts to address such offenses appropriately.