South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that a man in Charleston County has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for possession of child sexual abuse material.
On September 6, 2024, Michael Bentz pleaded guilty to third-degree minor sexual exploitation before the Honorable Judge Jennifer McCoy in Charleston County.
Around April 4, 2021, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported that a user of a messaging app had placed files of child sexual abuse material on its platform. The user’s subscriber information led investigators to Bentz’s home on Wadmalaw Island in Charleston County. The matter was referred to the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office for further investigation. On Feb. 2, 2022, Charleston County investigators executed a search warrant at Bentz’s home. While there, Bentz confessed to