Attorney General Alan Wilson has announced the sentencing of an Anderson County man for sex crimes against minors. Julio Cesar De La Cruz Reyes pleaded guilty on July 16 to one count of Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor, 3rd degree, and one count of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, 2nd degree.
The investigation began on August 18, 2023, when Special Investigator Kevin Atkins from the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office looked into a file-sharing network used for distributing and possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material. During this investigation, Atkins identified a user sharing files from Reyes’ residence in Anderson County. A search warrant was executed at Reyes’ home on February 9, 2024. Upon questioning by law enforcement, Reyes admitted to owning the child sexual abuse material and confessed to sexually assaulting a minor in Anderson County. He was subsequently taken into custody.
A forensic examination of Reyes’ cell phone by Jamie Johnson from the South Carolina Attorney General’s office uncovered 392 images and videos of child sexual abuse material, including images involving babies and toddlers.
Judge R. Lawton McIntosh sentenced Reyes to serve 15 years at the SC Department of Corrections for the Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor charge and 10 years for the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor charge. The sentences will run concurrently, with credit given for 527 days already served. Reyes is also required to register as a sex offender.
