Sen. Allen Blackmon, R-Heath Springs, sits in the Senate chamber at the Statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina, during the Senate's organizational session on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (Photo by Mary Anne Chastain/Special to the SC Daily Gazette)
COLUMBIA — Legislation increasing the minimum punishment for people who create or share images of child sex abuse received unanimous approval Tuesday by the South Carolina Senate.
The bill would have the biggest impact on people previously convicted of a sex crime.
The 44-0 vote followed the quick adoption of one amendment.
As amended Tuesday to wrap in additional crimes, registered sex offenders would face at least a five-year prison sentence if they’re caught possessing, distributing, producing, sharing, duplicating, selling or buying images of children being sexually abused.
The sentencing floor would be 10 years for repeat offenders caught trafficking or coercing a child to participate in the production of such photos or videos.
SC proposal increases minimum prison time for people with child sex abuse images
Recidivism is a major problem for these kinds of crimes, Attorney General Alan Wilson told senators at a panel earlier this month.
The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, overseen by his office, worked with Senate attorneys on the bill, according to its sponsor, Lancaster County GOP Sen. Allen Blackmon.
The bill would reset the sentencing floor for a first conviction at three or five years, depending on their role.
It also creates tiered minimum penalties for possession of images of children being sexually abused — real or morphed — that depend on how many photos or videos investigators find.
Possessing over 25 of those images would result in a minimum one-year sentence under the bill. Having more than 250 images would require at least two years in prison.
Existing state law sets no minimum sentence for possessing such material — only a maximum of 10 years in prison.
Another approval on the Senate floor would send the bill to the House.
Blackmon said he’s optimistic the bill will become law before the session ends.
Wilson applauded the Senate’s unanimous vote and urged the House to quickly approve it.
“This is not political,” said the attorney general, who’s running for governor. “This is about the moral obligation we have to put children first.”
Courtesy of South Carolina Daily Gazette
