Hilton Head man charged with prostitution, told police a pimp blackmailed him
A Hilton Head Island man was jailed on a prostitution charge after allegedly telling police he canceled on an online escort and was financially extorted by a pimp.
The 68-year-old suspect was booked on the misdemeanor offense around noon Wednesday, inmate records show.
The man allegedly called police Saturday afternoon “in regards to being blackmailed by a pimp,” according to an incident report from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
He told the deputy he was on a website called Escorts Affair around Jan. 13 when he found the profile of a woman named “Caitlein,” described as a 25-year-old Russian whose location was listed as Hilton Head. But the man backed out after they agreed to a $300 one-hour session for the following day, the report says, telling Caitlein he “had a conflict and could not meet.”
About an hour later, the man received a text from the woman’s “pimp,” who reportedly threatened him with personal information like his home address and the names of his wife and children as he demanded a payment of $2,500, according to the report.
The man’s attempts to pay the pimp through CashApp and PayPal failed due to automated fraud protection, according to the incident report. He was told to buy Sephora gift cards and text pictures to the pimp, whose number had an area code from Broward County, Florida.
In total, the man sent reportedly $250 through a Sephora gift card and about $2,200 via a cryptocurrency wallet, the report says.
The man allegedly sent police screenshots of his initial text to Caitlein and her profile on the escort website, which he said did not feature explicit content like other advertisements on the platform “and did not openly promise sex.”
Although prostitution is illegal in South Carolina and in most other U.S. states, escort sites are permitted across the country because they are advertised as providing “companionship” instead of transactional sex acts.
Man’s alleged confessions lead to his arrest
Asked if he was expecting a sexual favor during the meetup, the man allegedly told the deputy he “thought it was possible,” according to the police report.
Answering a subsequent question about what he thought he would get out of the interaction with Caitlein, he allegedly told police: “The jollies of sitting down with someone that was young and paying attention to me and probably gave me a little bit of attention and a kiss or a crotch rub or more, who knows.”
Based on their conversation, the deputy wrote he would seek a warrant for the man’s arrest. South Carolina statutes prohibit people from both engaging in and “soliciting” prostitution.
The man attended a bond hearing Thursday morning and was released around 11 a.m. on a $1,087.50 personal recognizance bond, meaning he would not be required to pay the amount unless he violated court conditions.
Other prostitution arrests in Beaufort County
It appears to be the first arrest of its type in Beaufort County since September 2024, when police pulled over a man who had just met up with an escort at Hilton Head’s Red Roof Inn. Deputies arrested the woman for prostitution after he admitted to soliciting her for sex, but the man was let go due to being “cooperative” with police.
It was unclear how the 2024 charge was adjudicated. The woman’s charge no longer appeared in a search of Beaufort County judicial records.
The case was still active as of Thursday as investigators looked into possibly identifying Caitlein and the pimp described in the report, according to BCSO spokesperson Lt. Daniel Allen.
The man arrested Wednesday had no prior criminal history, according to court records.
Under S.C. law, a first offense for prostitution is punishable by a fine up to $200 and a maximum prison term of 30 days. The sentence limit rises to six months for a second offense and a minimum of one year for a third offense.
The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette do not publish the names of individuals who were charged with misdemeanor crimes unless the accused is a public figure or if revealing their name is a matter of public interest.
This story was originally published January 22, 2026 at 11:57 AM.
