Beaufort Co. grand jury indicts man for allegedly having digital files of child sex abuse
A Beaufort man was indicted by a Beaufort County grand jury on Thursday on several charges, alleging he had digital files of child sexual abuse materials in 2018, according to court documents .
Kennith Dickson, of Beaufort, faces three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor in the second degree and three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor in the third degree, documents show.
The charges were presented to the grand jury by the S.C. Attorney General’s Office, which prosecutes child sexual abuse material cases across the state.
Dickson, then 62, was previously charged on three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor in the second degree in August 2018 by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
Thursday’s grand jury indicted him on those charges and added three more.
On Aug. 11, 2018, a judge set three surety bonds of $25,000 each, and Dickson posted them with the help of a bail bonds company, court records show.
Dickson’s lawyer, Scott Lee, of the Law Offices of Scott W. Lee, PA in Beaufort, was not immediately available for comment.
Five of six of the alleged offenses took place in May 2018, with one taking place in March 2018.
All the charges are felonies under S.C. law, and each is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
