From staff reports
Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office investigators on Thursday, July 15, arrested 42-year-old Phillip Martin Jr. of Lady’s Island and charged him with two counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor 2nd Degree and two counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor 3rd Degree.
Investigators had received a lead from the S.C. Attorney General’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) initiative of child sexual abuse imagery being uploaded to the Internet from computers and/or electronic devices by an unknown subject in Beaufort County.
According to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, further investigation substantiated the lead and revealed that the child sexual abuse imagery had been uploaded by Martin of 42 Brindlewood Drive.
Based on this information, Sheriff’s Office investigators obtained a warrant from a Beaufort County magistrate to search the Brindlewood Drive residence to locate and seize the computers and/or electronic devices used to upload the child sexual abuse imagery.
Investigators also obtained warrants from the magistrate for the arrest of Martin. At the time the search warrant was served, Martin Jr. was at home and taken into custody for the four warrants without incident.
Martin Jr. was transported to the Beaufort County Detention Center and booked on the charges. As of Tuesday, he remains incarcerated.
During the search of Martin’s residence, investigators seized numerous electronic devices. The S.C. Attorney General’s Office will conduct forensic examinations on the seized devices. Those examinations may result in additional criminal charges.
In addition, the S.C. Attorney General’s Office will prosecute Martin for all charges stemming from this ICAC investigation.
