Former State Lawmaker Pleads Guilty to Distributing Child Sexual Abuse Material

COLUMBIA, S.C. -Robert John May, III, 38, of West Columbia, has pleaded guilty to five counts of distributing child sexual abuse material.*

"The conduct May pleaded guilty to represents some of the most depraved and exploitative conduct we investigate," said Bryan Stirling, U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina. "Our office will bring every resource available to protect children from violence and abuse. This prosecution was made possible through excellent law enforcement coordination between Homeland Security Investigations, the South Carolina Attorney General's Office Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Lexington County Sheriff's Department and all those who work to protect the most vulnerable in our society."

According to court documents and statements made in court, in May 2024, a tip was sent by Kik, a social-media platform, to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which indicated that over a five-day period in March and April 2024 a Kik account with the username "joebidennnn69" distributed videos depicting the sexual abuse of children to other Kik users 50 times.

Investigators connected the account to the home IP address and mobile device of May and determined videos depicting the sexual abuse of children were distributed from the account at least 479 times over the five-day period, with the majority resolving to May's home address or cell phone. Kik records showed the account connected to May's home Wi-Fi account at least 958 times and to his cell phone 67 times. A federal grand jury charged May with distributing 10 videos depicting child sexual abuse that were shared from the account.

Evidence indicated May was responsible. A forensic analysis of May's phone revealed that the user dictionary included the term "joebidennnn" and the same email used to register the Kik account. It also revealed Kik, along with Telegram, Mega, and Sessions messenger-all applications referenced in Kik messages-were deleted on April 4, 2024, within 20 seconds of each other. May's phone also received more than 450 alerts from the Kik application during the time the joebidennnn69 account was active, and several conversations on the joebidennnn69 account correlate with internet searches and application downloads that occurred on May's phone and laptop at the same time. The investigation further revealed that May and the Kik account user shared the same pseudonym, Eric Rentling.

May faces a minimum penalty of five years in federal prison and a maximum of 20 years. He also faces a fine of up to $250,000, restitution, up to lifetime supervision to follow the term of imprisonment, and he will be required to register as a sex offender upon release from prison.

United States District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie accepted the guilty plea and will sentence May on Jan. 14, 2026, after receiving and reviewing a pre-sentence report from the U.S. Probation Office.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the South Carolina Attorney General's Office and the Lexington County Sheriff's Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Matthews, Elliott B. Daniels, and Dean Secor are prosecuting the case with Austin M. Berry of the Department of Justice's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.

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* The term "child pornography" is currently used in federal statutes and is defined as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a person less than 18 years old. While this phrase still appears in federal law, "child sexual abuse material" is preferred, as it better reflects the abuse that is depicted in the images and videos and the resulting trauma to the child. The Associated Press Stylebook also discourages the use of the phrase "child pornography."