By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Four Beaufort County men are facing federal charges in the sex trafficking case of a 17-year-old girl.
William James Youmans, Jaquan Duvall Barnes, Guy Frank Talley III and Alban Bryan all appeared in federal court in Charleston on Oct. 9 where a nine-count indictment was unsealed against them by prosecutors.
The indictment reveals that the men allegedly trafficked the 17-year-old victim knowing that she had been reported as missing by her family from January to March 2024.
They have been accused of sexually abusing or producing child abuse materials of the girl and trafficking and all charges against the men carry the potential of life sentences.
Youmans, Talley and Bryan were all originally arrested in summer 2024 by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) human trafficking of a minor among other charges.
Barnes was originally arrested by Hardeeville, S.C. police in March 2024 because he was wanted in Georgia on sex trafficking charges.
At the time of his initial arrest, police found a child in his vehicle who was being trafficked at the time according to earlier reporting from The Island News. He escaped from Jasper County Detention Center in June 2024 and was recaptured in Jacksonville a month later.
Talley, Amani Nekwan Naughn and Kalynn Jade Cloud were charged with harboring an escaped convict by SLED in connection with Barnes’ escape.
After he was recaptured, Barnes was then charged with human trafficking of a minor, two counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, two counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and unlawful escape.
According to the federal indictment, Barnes, Youmans and Talley have been accused of working together to sell the 17-year-old girl for sex at Beaufort County area motels and hotels, allegedly using food, shelter and drugs to control her and used pornographic images of her to solicit paying sex clients on the internet.
Barnes and Youmans have been charged with sex trafficking of a minor, sex trafficking conspiracy and aiding and abetting, receiving and distributing child pornography, coercion of a minor and aiding and abetting. Talley is charged with coercion of a minor and aiding and abetting.
Bryan is charged with sex trafficking of a minor, receipt of child pornography, distribution of child pornography and coercion or enticement of a minor.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
