St. Helena man charged with 12 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, police say
A man from St. Helena Island is facing a slew of felony charges for sexual exploitation of a minor, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
James R. Bishop, 72, was charged with 12 counts of the crime, six counts in the first degree and six in the third degree, jail records show.
In South Carolina’s Code of Laws, sexual exploitation of a minor in the first degree is defined as coercing a minor into performing sexual activity or sexually explicit behavior, whether through a live performance or a digital recording. A third-degree charge entails owning materials that contain child sexual abuse material.
No specific details behind Bishop’s charges will be released immediately, according to Maj. Angela Viens, a spokesperson for the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies began looking into Bishop after receiving a tip with allegations from a community member, according to the alert. As the investigation progressed, police used probable cause to conduct search warrants on two locations associated with Bishop.
Those searches led to the issue of multiple warrants for Bishop’s arrest. He was detained Friday morning at his St. Helena Island home.
Bishop was being held at the Beaufort County Detention Center as of 3:30 p.m. Friday afternoon. A bond hearing had not been scheduled.
This story was originally published October 21, 2022 at 3:45 PM.
