Columbia man arrested for alleged attempted sexual exploitation involving minors

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Jerry Wayne Williams, a 67-year-old resident of Columbia, South Carolina. Williams faces seven charges related to attempted sexual exploitation of a minor. The arrest was made by investigators from the Mount Pleasant Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. Investigators from the U.S. Marshals Service, also part of the state ICAC task force, assisted in the investigation.

According to investigators, Williams solicited someone he believed to be a minor for sex and sent sexually explicit images to that person. The arrest took place on October 4, 2024.

Williams is charged with three counts of criminal solicitation of a minor under section §16-15-342. Each count is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Additionally, he faces four counts of attempted distribution of obscene material to a person under the age of eighteen under section §16-15-345. These charges are also felonies, punishable by up to 10 years in prison per charge.

The case will be prosecuted by the Public Prosecution Service. Attorney General Wilson emphasized that “all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.”