Westminster Man Pleads Guilty to Child Porn Charges

Contact Person: Lance Crick (864) 282-2105

Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Vern McPherson, age 53, of Westminster, pled guilty in federal court in Greenville, to possession and transporting child pornography, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252A.  United States District Judge Bruce H. Hendricks of Charleston accepted the plea and will impose sentence after she has reviewed the presentence report which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.

Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that law enforcement received an investigative lead from HSI Cyber Crimes Center that a server in Switzerland (which had been seized by the Swiss Federal Police) revealed McPherson’s IP address as having accessed child pornography from the server. 

After reviewing material from the Swiss case, a federal search warrant was obtained for McPherson’s home.  A forensic exam of his computer revealed 693 images and 2 videos of child pornography.

Ms. Drake stated the maximum penalty McPherson can receive is a fine of $250,000 and/or imprisonment for no more than 20 years, plus a special assessment of $100. 

The case was investigated by agents of ICE-Homeland Security Investigations.  Assistant United States Attorney Bill Watkins of the Greenville office handled the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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