South Carolina lawmaker resigns after arrest on child sex abuse material charges

A state lawmaker in South Carolina resigned from his seat months after being arrested for alleged distribution of child sexual abuse material, the state's House speaker announced on Aug. 11.

RJ May, a 38-year-old Republican state representative and former South Carolina House Freedom Caucus strategist, was accused of using the screen name “joebidennnn69” on the social media network Kik to exchange 220 different files of toddlers and young children.

“I have decided that it is in the best interest of my family and constituents to resign immediately from the South Carolina House of Representatives,” reads a resignation letter sent from May to the state's House Speaker Murrell Smith and obtained by local media outlets, including the Post and Courier and South Carolina Daily Gazette.

In a statement, the South Carolina House Freedom Caucus, which May helped found, said the resignation is “long overdue.”

“The people of District 88 deserve true and honorable representation," the statement said.

According to court records obtained by Paste BN, May exchanged the explicit files across five days in spring 2024. The records say the files were uploaded and downloaded on May’s home Wi-Fi network and on his cellphone.

In a June press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, officials said May faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, a fine of $250,000 and five years of probation. May is being held at the Edgefield County jail, awaiting the start of his trial.

May’s legal representation did not immediately respond to Paste BN’s request for comment on Aug. 12.

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for Paste BN. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.