By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Four Beaufort-area men were indicted by a federal grand jury with sex trafficking of a minor, sex trafficking conspiracy, coercion and enticement and child sexual abuse material offenses.
The federal grand jury in Charleston returned a nine-count indictment charging Jaquan Duvall Barnes, William James Youmans, Guy Frank Talley and Alban Bryan during a case that occurred during the 43-day government shutdown, according to a press release from Friday, Nov. 14, put out by the United States Attorney’s Office, District of South Carolina.
Barnes, 30, of Port Royal, was charged with human trafficking conspiracy, sex trafficking of a minor, distribution and receipt of child sexual abuse material and coercion and enticement of a minor.
Youmans, 35, of Beaufort, was charged with human trafficking conspiracy, sex trafficking of a minor, distribution and receipt of child sexual abuse material and coercion and enticement of a minor.
Talley, 28, of Beaufort, was charged with coercion and enticement of a minor.
Bryan, 64, of St. Helena Island, was charged with sex trafficking of a minor, distribution and receipt of child sexual abuse material and coercion and enticement of a minor.
Per the indictment and evidence that was presented in court, according to the release, a minor victim had “particular vulnerabilities” – which included drug dependence and having run away from home – and one or more of the defendants were aware of them.
According to the release, Bryan recruited, enticed, harbored, coerced and trafficked a minor victim, knowing her status as a runaway, and exchanged drugs and housing to obtain sex acts from the minor between Dec. 2023 and Jan. 2024.
Additionally, Bryan allegedly received, distributed and produced child sexual abuse material that depicted the minor victim, with whom he had a familial relationship.
Barnes, Youmans and Talley allegedly coerced and enticed the minor victim to engage in sex acts that violate federal and state law between Jan. 2024 and Mar. 2024, according to the release.
The indictment alleges that Barnes and Youmans trafficked the minor victim into the commercial sex trade in exchange for money, housing and drugs while aware that the victim was a minor.
The two men are accused of working together to exploit the victim, including by obtaining child sexual abuse material and compromising photographs of the minor, advertising her on the internet for commercial sex, communicating with customers to arrange commercial sex acts and transporting the minor to hotels all while supplying the minor with illegal narcotics and confiscating proceeds from the commercial sex scheme.
Allegedly, Talley is responsible for facilitating the exploitation by advertising of the minor on the internet for commercial sex.
Furthermore, the indictment alleges that Youmans and Bryan received and distributed child sexual abuse material depicting the minor victim.
Each of the four defendants faces a mandatory 10 years and up to life in federal prison and the defendants also face a lifetime supervision by the federal court system following any term of imprisonment, sex offender registration and mandatory restitution payable to victims.
Youmans, Barnes and Talley were arraigned in federal court on Oct. 9 and were all ordered detained, according to the press release.
Bryan was ordered detained by U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Gordon Baker pending trial after a contested detention hearing on Oct. 16.
U.S. District Judge Bruce Howe Hendricks will preside over the case.
The case was jointly investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) with assistance from the Hardeeville Police Department, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia Highway Patrol and Jacksonville (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy F. Bower and Elliot B. Daniels are prosecuting the case, per the release.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, which is a nationwide initiative that was launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Project Safe Childhood is currently led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, and it helps federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children in addition to identifying and rescuing victims.
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.
