SLED establishes probable cause against Barnes, Youmans, Bryan in preliminary hearings
By Mike McCombs
The Island News
Three of the principal figures in a human sex trafficking operation in Beaufort County had their preliminary hearings on Friday morning, Aug. 2, and all three were bound over for trial.
Jaquan Barnes and William Youmans, both still confined at the Beaufort County Detention Center had their hearings before Beaufort County Magistrate Thomas A. Holloway at the courtroom inside the Detention Center. Following that, Alvin Bryan, who has been released on bond, had his hearing before Beaufort County Magistrate Richard Brooks in his courtroom.
The charges
Barnes, Youmans and Bryan are charged with Trafficking in Persons, Victim Under 18 Years of Age.
Barnes is also charged with two counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor – 2nd Degree, two counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor – 3rd Degree; Contributing to Delinquency of a Minor; and Unlawful Escape (this hearing was not for this charge).
Bryan and Youmans were also charged with Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor. That charge states that “the defendant did know that the victim was under the age of eighteen and knew she was a reported missing person from her proper residence. The defendant did provide housing and narcotics to the minor victim while encouraging the sex trafficking of the minor victim.”
The dates during which the trafficking took place, according to arrest warrants, were from February 1, 2024 through March 5, 2024.
The hearings
Barnes was the first to have his hearing, entering the courtroom in a red jumper and chains almost 10 minutes late, as a representative from the Public Defender’s office had not shown up.
When she arrived, Public Defender Taylor Diggs indicated she was not actually assigned to represent Barnes, but was instead there to represent Youmans. She did, however, handle both hearings.
Barnes, visibly frustrated, could be heard more than once telling her he did not want a lawyer.
Youmans’ hearing followed that of Barnes.
Hunter Swanson of the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office handled the cases for the state. Swanson is a member of the Career Criminal Unit, which prosecutes the circuit’s most violent and habitual offenders, and the leader of the Special Victims Unit.
Swanson called Special Agent Logan Fey of the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division’s (SLED) Human Trafficking Division to establish probable cause. This was repeated twice – once for Youmans in the Detention Center Courtroom and again for Bryan in Brooks’ courtroom.
Bryan, who was not present, was defended by Jeff Stevens, who waived Bryan’s right to appear. Swanson, once again, represented the state.
Holloway ruled there was probable cause to bind Barnes and Youmans over for trial, and Brooks did the same for Bryan.
A clearer, more disturbing picture
While the hearings seemed like a formality, Fey’s testimony regarding information and statements gathered during the course of his investigation, along with information from a police report, helped paint a clearer picture of exactly what the three defendants are accused of, at least in the case of this particular victim.
The minor victim in this case was at the time a runaway and was addicted to drugs. According to Fey’s investigation, the minor victim had approached a relative on St. Helena Island, Alvin Bryan, who is a known narcotics dealer in Beaufort County.
According to Fey, Bryan, prior to contact with the victim, had been contacted by family who were trying to gain her safe return. Instead, the minor victim turned to Bryan for narcotics and shelter in exchange for oral sex. According to statements from Bryan and the victim, this was a “standard transaction that took place.”
There is a level of separation between Bryan and Barnes, who Fey called the mastermind of the operation, but Bryan knew Youmans, who was involved directly with Barnes.
At some point, according to Fey, Bryan ultimately did knowingly allow the minor to leave from his residence. Near the residence, she encountered Youmans, who was on the way to do business with Bryan.
Youmans transported her back to Bryan’s residence to purchase more narcotics. According to cell phone records, Fey said, Youmans knew she was a minor.
Youmans took her to his residence, according to Fey, and “tested her out” – had sexual intercouse with her. He traded housing and drugs for sex, keeping her at his residence for three days, according to statements Fey collected.
During this time, Youmans had a running conversation with Barnes about the minor victim. According to Fey, there was evidence of this found on both phones. Youmans told Barnes, she is “good to go.” Eventually, he provided the minor victim to Barnes.
Youmans claims he had no knowledge of anything that happened after he provided the minor victim to Barnes, and Fey indicated authorities are still investigating whether there was any financial compensation provided to Youmans for his role.
According to Fey, Barnes also had sexual relations with the minor victim, exchanging housing, food and safety for sex. According to Fey’s testimony, Barnes provided the victim with alcohol, marijuana, and exposed her to commercial sex acts.
Barnes forced the victim to provide two pornographic images and enlisted fellow defendant Guy Frank Talley III to post ads for the minor victim on commercial sex websites. The images were traced back to cellular devices belonging to Barnes.
According to Fey, Barnes handled all communications with Johns, and commercial sex acts took place at different locations in Beaufort and Jasper counties – some were at residences and some were “out calls” where the victim was driven to locations where the acts took place.
This continued until March 5, when Hardeeville Police tried to conduct a traffic stop on Barnes, and he allegedly ran from police. The minor victim, who had been reported missing from Beaufort County, was in the car with him.
Eventually, the minor victim, after initially giving a false name, gave statements detailing some of the previously described events, resulting in a larger investigation and eventually bringing the sex trafficking operation crashing down.
Next
A fourth defendant, Talley, is slated to have his preliminary hearing at 8:30 a.m., Friday, Aug. 9 in Beaufort County Magistrate Court. Talley faces charges of Trafficking in Persons, Victim Under 18 Years of Age; Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, 2nd Degree; and Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, 3nd Degree.
Though Special Agent Fey’s testimony for probably cause only involves one minor victim, sources have told The Island News, there are multiple.
And once again, according to SLED, “the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, the Beaufort Police Department, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, the Hardeeville Police Department, the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations are working together on the active and ongoing investigation.”
Mike McCombs is the editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.
