Bluffton man charged with sexually assaulting children

A Bluffton man has been arrested on charges of sexually assaulting two small children, officials say.

Carl Herko, 71, was arrested Friday at the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office substation on Hilton Head Island, according to a statement issued by the office Saturday morning.

An investigation conducted by the Sheriff’s Office revealed that, over the past several months while the two children were in his custody, Herko sexually assaulted them multiple times, the statement said. In addition, Herko exposed both children to pornographic material.

After he was interviewed at the Sheriff’s Office late Friday afternoon, Herko was arrested and charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor in the first degree and one count of disseminating obscene material.

Herko was taken to the Beaufort County Detention Center.

Both the Sheriff's Office and the S.C. Department of Social Services are continuing to investigate.

This story was originally published March 19, 2016 at 11:26 AM with the headline "Bluffton man charged with sexually assaulting children."