Charleston man sentenced to 10 years in prison for possession of child pornography

CHARLESTON, SC (WCIV) — A Charleston man faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to possession of child sexual abuse material, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced Tuesday.

On Friday, September 6, 2024, Michael Bentz pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor in Charleston County before Judge Jennifer McCoy.

On or about April 4, 2021, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported that a user of a messaging application had posted files containing child abuse material to the platform. The user’s subscription information led investigators to Bentz’s home on Wadmalaw Island in Charleston County, according to a report from the attorney general’s office.

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On February 2, 2022, Charleston County detectives executed a search warrant at Bentz’s home. While there, Bentz admitted to being responsible for the child abuse material. A search of his electronics found tens of thousands of additional files containing child abuse material, the attorney general’s office reported.

Judge McCoy sentenced Bentz to 10 years in prison. He was given credit for time already served. He will have to register as a sex offender and forfeit his electronics upon his release.