Child Sex Offender Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Child Sexual Abuse Material Possession

COLUMBIA, S.C. — John Edward Prigmore, 40, of Fort Lawn, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession of child sexual abuse material.*

Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that in May 2023, the South Carolina Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) executed a search warrant on Prigmore’s residence after receiving a cyber-tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). According to the cyber-tip, accounts associated with Prigmore contained child sexual abuse material. Several electronic devices that belonged to Prigmore were searched pursuant to the warrant and found to contain child sexual abuse material.

Prigmore was previously convicted on state charges of criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis sentenced Prigmore to 120 months' imprisonment, to be followed by a lifetime of court-ordered supervision.  There is no parole in the federal system. He was also ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and South Carolina Attorney General’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Matthews is prosecuting the case.

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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.”