South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has announced the arrest of Timothy Kent Hart, a 41-year-old resident of Newberry, South Carolina, on five charges related to the sexual exploitation of minors. The arrest was made by Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators from the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office. The investigation also involved assistance from the Attorney General’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations, both members of the state’s ICAC Task Force.
The investigation began after a CyberTipline report was received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). According to investigators, Hart was found in possession of files containing child sexual abuse material.
Hart was taken into custody on September 26, 2025. He faces five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor in the third degree under South Carolina law (§16-15-410), with each count classified as a felony that carries a potential penalty of up to ten years in prison.
The Attorney General’s Office will prosecute the case.
Attorney General Wilson stated, “All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.”
The press release notes that child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is now used as a more accurate term for this type of crime, replacing “child pornography,” which can imply consent on the part of victims. The global shift toward using CSAM aims to reflect the abusive nature of these offenses.
