North Carolina man charged with possession of child abuse material

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Michael Niaram Styles, 63, of Charlotte, NC, on five charges related to the sexual exploitation of minors. Investigators with the York County Sheriff’s Office’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force made the arrest. Investigators from the attorney general’s office, also a member of the state’s ICAC Task Force, assisted in the investigation.

Investigators received a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that led them to Styles. Investigators say Styles possessed files containing child abuse material.

Styles was arrested on August 13, 2024. He is charged with five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, third degree (§16-15-410), a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison per count.

This case will be prosecuted by the Public Prosecution Service.

Attorney General Wilson stressed that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

“Child pornography material, or CSAM, is a more accurate representation of the material involved in these heinous and abusive crimes. ‘Pornography’ can imply that the child was a consenting participant. Worldwide, the term child pornography is being replaced by CSAM for this reason.”