A Republican member of South Carolina’s state house, RJ May, has been arrested and charged with 10 counts of distributing child sexual abuse material. The three-term lawmaker, who allegedly used the screen name ‘joebidennnn69’, appeared in court on Thursday and was ordered to remain in custody until his trial.
According to court documents, May is accused of using the Kik social media network to exchange 220 files depicting toddlers and young children engaged in sex acts over about five days in spring 2024. Prosecutors said the files were uploaded and downloaded using his home wifi network and cellphone, with some hidden via a private network but others linked directly to his internet addresses.
During his arraignment, May’s lawyer, Dayne Phillips, suggested that someone could have used a wifi password visible in a photo his wife may have posted online, and argued that investigators did not link each Kik message directly to May. However, prosecutors successfully argued against bail, noting that May lives with his wife and young children, and that some of the files accused feature children of similar age.
Prosecutors also revealed an investigation into whether May used a fake name to travel to Colombia three times after finding videos on his laptop allegedly showing him having sex with three girls or women, who an agent from the US Department of Homeland Security testified appeared to be underage and paid. Agents have not been able to locate them.
Following his arrest, May was suspended from his legislative seat by the House speaker and expelled from the Freedom caucus, a group of conservative lawmakers he helped create. The caucus released a statement confirming his removal. May’s lawyer suggested he could have been framed due to political enemies, but a DHS agent replied, “There are a fair amount of people who don’t like me either.”
