Rep. RJ May, a founding member of the Freedom Caucus, was arrested Wednesday
By Skylar Laird
SCDailyGazette.com
COLUMBIA — A state representative will remain in jail without bond on charges of distributing child sexual abuse material, a federal judge decided Thursday, June 12.
Rep. RJ May, a founding member of the state’s ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus, faces 10 counts of distributing child sexual abuse material, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. May pleaded not guilty in court Thursday, June 12.
May was arrested Wednesday, June 11, outside his West Columbia home and booked in the Lexington County jail, according to jail records that quickly disappeared from public view.
May was suspended without pay from the House on Thursday pending the case’s outcome, according to a letter from the House Speaker’s Office. State law requires an officeholder indicted on a felony to be suspended.
Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation.
May, who arrived in court Thursday wearing a white T-shirt and gray athletic shorts, also faces up to 20 years in prison, with a minimum of five years, as well as a fine of up to $250,000 if found guilty. If May is convicted, prosecutors will seek a sentence at or near the maximum, U.S. Assistant Attorney Scott Matthews told Judge Shiva Hodges on Thursday.
In April 2024, social messaging app Kik notified the nonprofit National Center for Missing and Exploited Children of videos involving child sexual abuse sent from an account called “joebidennnn69.” Investigators tracked the account to May’s house and cellphone, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The “joebidennnn69” account was established March 30, 2024, and deleted five days later, said Britton Lorenzen, a special agent for the Department of Homeland Security’s division investigating internet crimes against children. In that time, the account sent more than 1,100 messages, mostly explicit in nature. Investigators identified 220 different videos and images depicting child sexual abuse saved to it, she testified in court.
Most of the videos involved young children, including toddlers and infants, Lorenzen said. Some depicted violent acts, and at least one included beastiality, she said.
To prove the phone belonged to May, prosecutors presented phone records that showed May made calls to his wife or clients at his consulting firm, researched legislation and, in one case, texted a friend “happy Easter” at the same time the videos were being sent over Kik.
Dayne Phillips, who represented May during the investigation and in court Thursday, argued the overlap in phone records showed May couldn’t have been the one sending the videos. The judge disagreed, pointing out that she had been texting a law clerk and rescheduling hearings on her phone while taking notes during May’s hearing.
“I don’t think it a big leap that one uses a phone for multiple reasons at the same time,” Hodges said.
Phillips also argued someone may have taken control of May’s phone or gotten onto his home internet during those five days, alluding to unnamed “political enemies” who may have wanted to harm May’s career or reputation.
May’s home WiFi and phone were both password protected, meaning it would be difficult for another person to access them, said Matthews.
Federal investigators seized electronics from 38-year-old May last August. Two months later, a court filing confirmed they took a Lenovo laptop, an Amazon tablet, four cellphones, four hard drives, four SD cards, two DVD-Rs and 19 thumb drives.
Among those were two cellphones found in May’s master bedroom, one belonging to him and the other belonging to his wife. The phone belonging to May’s wife was not linked to child sexual abuse material, Lorenzen said.
While none of the devices investigators seized had child sexual abuse material saved directly on them, that’s not uncommon, Lorenzen testified, considering the ability to save media to the cloud through various apps.
May’s phone showed several apps had recently been deleted, including Kik and other encrypted, foreign-based apps for which U.S. investigators can’t get search warrants, Lorenzen said. But data on the phone that saves commonly used phrases suggested the “joebidennnn69” username, as well as an alternate email account linked to that Kik user, had been typed repeatedly, she said.
On May’s personal laptop, investigators also found nine separate videos of May paying to have sex with women who appeared to be young. The videos appear to have been recorded during international trips May took to Colombia in 2023 and 2024, Lorenzen said. Investigators have not been able to identify the women or determine their ages, she said.
May doesn’t face any charges related to those videos. However, Hodges referenced the videos as a reason to keep May in jail until the date of his trial. She said the videos suggest May has ties to another country, making him a potential flight risk.
Hodges also worried that many of the children in the videos appeared to be about the same age as May’s two children, both of whom are under 10 years old, she said.
“I am concerned about the danger to the community, specifically to May’s two minor children, as well as other children, who are somebody’s children,” Hodges said.
Members of the Freedom Caucus, which suspended May’s membership last year, called for him to resign his House seat.
May previously served as vice chairman but no longer held a leadership position after the caucus’ officer elections last July. His connections in Congress helped launch the state Freedom Caucus in 2022. He acted as de facto spokesman for the group as it battled with the main Republican Caucus until the federal investigation became public.
“These crimes are heinous and we expect that they will be fully investigated,” the Freedom Caucus statement read.
May has not been involved with Freedom Caucus activities since last August, said Rep. Jordan Pace, R-Goose Creek, the caucus’ current chairman. May attended this year’s session, but he stayed quiet, not getting involved in floor debates and continuing to vote alongside the Freedom Caucus.
The last legislator suspended while facing charges was Rep. Rick Martin in 2021. The Newberry Republican was charged with giving alcohol to a 15-year-old girl and trying to influence an investigation by the state Department of Social Services, which the former foster parent denied at the time.
Martin lost a bid for reelection the following year, losing the primary election to Freedom Caucus member Rep. Joe White. His case is ongoing.
Skylar Laird covers the South Carolina Legislature and criminal justice issues. Originally from Missouri, she previously worked for The Post and Courier’s Columbia bureau. S.C Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
