Three Arrests in Child Sexual Exploitation Cases

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the Sept. 5 arrest of 43-year-old Jonathan Michael Cain of Florence by ICAC investigators on seven charges related to child sexual abuse material — six counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of dissemination of obscene material to a person under 12 — and said defendants are presumed innocent and prefers the term “CSAM.” In Pueblo County, investigators arrested 43-year-old Matthew Phelps on Sept. 23 on three felony counts of sexual exploitation of children after more than 1,100 images and videos of child sexual abuse material were found on devices traced to his home; he was booked on a $75,000 bond and the probe involved ICAC and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Separately in Pueblo West, 30-year-old Denver resident Alfredo Antonio-Diego was arrested after a 16-year-old told deputies she met him on Snapchat, left home without parental consent and was found intoxicated after they had sex. Antonio-Diego faces felony sexual assault, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, DUI and related charges, and investigators seized his vehicle. Prosecutors will pursue the Cain case through the Attorney General’s Office, and investigations into the Pueblo incidents remain ongoing.