LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — A 67-year-old Florence man was among 11 people arrested in a recent multi-agency online sting operation aimed at potential child sexual predators, authorities said.
Robert Mitchum Nichols was charged with criminal solicitation of a minor and second-degree attempted criminal sexual conduct with a minor, according to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, which conducted the investigation along with the Lexington Police Department, the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office and numerous other law-enforcement agencies from across the state.
“Officers pretended to be underage teenagers as the suspects messaged them through social media apps,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said in a Facebook post about the investigation. “After the suspect asked to meet with ‘the child,’ detectives were staged at a predetermined meeting spot to arrest them.”
No children were a part of the investigation, Koon said.
“There is no doubt about the intent of these suspects when the messages and images they sent are reviewed,” Koon said. “That’s why it’s important for parents to know who their children are communicating with online because sexual predators are looking for opportunities to exploit them.”
The 10 other people arrested and charged include:
- Christopher Michael Alexander, 30, Gilbert, South Carolina — first-degree attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, attempted unlawful dissemination of obscene material to a person under 18, criminal solicitation of a minor and second-degree attempted criminal sexual conduct with a minor
- Bryan Keith Beane, 61, Kings Mountain, North Carolina –- three counts of third-degree attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, attempted second-degree criminal sexual conduct, attempted unlawful dissemination of obscene material to a person under 18, criminal solicitation of a minor and possession of a weapon during a violent crime
- Jason Brandon Davis, 41, Lexington, South Carolina — two counts of criminal conspiracy, promoting the prostitution of a minor and two counts of second-degree attempted criminal sexual conduct with a minor
- Rodney Carlton Fussell, 25, Leesville, South Carolina –- second-degree attempted criminal sexual conduct with a minor and promoting the prostitution of a minor
- Terry Dwayne Goins Jr., 23, Gilbert, South Carolina — attempted second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor and criminal solicitation of a minor
- Nicholas Banks Jeffcoat, 33, Columbia, South Carolina –- criminal solicitation of a minor
- Karl Jordan Platt, 28, Columbia, South Carolina –- second-degree attempted criminal sexual conduct with a minor and criminal solicitation of a minor
- George Stanley Sawyer Jr., 42, Lexington, South Carolina –- first-degree attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, criminal solicitation of a minor, second-degree attempted criminal sexual conduct with a minor and attempted unlawful dissemination of obscene material to a person under 18
- Hunter Allen Trammell, 20, Newberry, South Carolina — second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor and criminal solicitation of a minor
- Terry William Volcke, 29, Elgin, South Carolina — criminal solicitation of a minor and three counts of attempted dissemination of obscene material to a person under 18
Koon said more arrests are possible as investigators pursue charges against other suspects identified during the operation.
Other agencies taking part in the investigation included the South Carolina Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Secret Service, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Cayce Police Department, the Mountain Pleasant Police Department, the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the city of Aiken, the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office, the West Columbia Police Department, the Irmo Police Department, the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office and the Camden Police Department.
