South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has announced the arrest of Bishop Ryan Weatherhead, a 30-year-old resident of Greenwood, South Carolina, on two charges related to the sexual exploitation of a minor. The arrest was carried out by Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators from the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office.
The investigation began after a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) led authorities to Weatherhead. According to investigators, Weatherhead is accused of distributing and possessing files containing child sexual abuse material.
Weatherhead was taken into custody on November 26, 2025. He faces one count of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. Both are felony offenses under South Carolina law and each carries a maximum penalty of up to ten years in prison.
The Attorney General’s Office will prosecute the case with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, both members of the state’s ICAC Task Force.
Attorney General Wilson stated: “All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.”
The term “child sexual abuse material” (CSAM) is used instead of “child pornography” because it more accurately describes the abusive nature of these crimes. The term “pornography” can wrongly suggest that children were willing participants, so CSAM is being adopted globally for clarity.
