South Carolina sets prison terms for child sexual exploitation

Courts must impose five to twenty years for first-degree felony convictions and three to ten years for second-degree felony convictions. First-degree crimes include involving children in sexual performances or making sexual images for money. Second-degree crimes include making, receiving, or sharing sexual images of children. The person must know the character or content of the material or performance. Courts cannot suspend minimum terms, and parole is unavailable until those terms are served. First-degree sentences must follow any other sentence the person is serving. Separate rules apply to prior convictions requiring sex offender registration and certain first altered-image cases against minors. The law took effect May 18, 2026. Pending cases and penalties already incurred remain governed by prior law.

Courts must sentence people convicted of felony possession according to the number of images they possess. Possession covers images of children in sexual activity or sexually explicit nudity intended for sexual stimulation. It includes altered images of identifiable children. The person must know the character or content of the material. The rule excludes law enforcement, prosecution, and corrections employees handling evidence during official investigations or criminal proceedings, including access for defense lawyers. Courts cannot suspend any minimum term, and parole is unavailable until it is served. Separate rules cover prior convictions requiring sex offender registration and minors facing a first charge involving altered images. These sentencing provisions took effect May 18, 2026.

Courts must apply special prison requirements when a person has a prior conviction that required sex offender registration. These rules cover people convicted of first-, second-, or third-degree sexual exploitation of a child who have the required prior conviction. The prior conviction must have required sex offender registration under South Carolina law. For second- and third-degree convictions, courts cannot suspend the five-year minimum, and parole is unavailable until it is served. These prison requirements took effect May 18, 2026.

Family courts must handle qualifying cases against minors as misdemeanors, which are less serious criminal offenses. The accused person must be a minor, and the case must involve an altered image of an identifiable child. For first-degree exploitation, the exception applies only to the minor’s first offense involving an altered image under the provision about making images for sale or financial gain. For second- and third-degree exploitation, it applies only to the minor’s first charge involving an altered image. The family court may require behavioral health counseling. The family-court provisions took effect May 18, 2026.