Hilton Head man charged with sexually exploiting children. More charges could be coming

A Hilton Head Island man has been arrested after child pornography was found on his computer.

David Jacobson, 57, confessed to downloading the material during an interview with Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office investigators, a Sheriff’s Office release states.

Upon his confession he was detained and transported to Beaufort County Detention Center without incident, where he remained early Saturday afternoon on $10,000 bond.

The Sheriff’s Office was tipped off about potential downloading of child porn at a Hilton Head home by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children initiative, the release said. Additional investigation by the Sheriff’s Office substantiated the tip, showing child porn to have been downloaded at 17 Bridgetown Road.

A search warrant was issued and on Thursday morning investigators served Jacobson with that warrant at his residence, seizing a laptop computer, the release said.

A preliminary search of the computer showed evidence of child pornography, the report said, prompting the interview with Jacobson wherein he confessed.

Jacobson has been charged with sexual exploitation of a minor in the third degree by a Beaufort County magistrate, the release said, and will be prosecuted by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office, as is customary when charges are issued in connection with an ICAC investigation.

Further in depth study of the content of the seized laptop will be performed by the Sheriff’s Office Forensic Services Laboratory’s Computer Crimes Unit and the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office. Any additional evidence revealed by these examinations could result in additional criminal charges against Jacobson, the release said.

This story was originally published January 20, 2018 at 1:26 PM with the headline "Hilton Head man charged with sexually exploiting children. More charges could be coming."