Prosecutors say Republican South Carolina lawmaker used 'joebidennnn69'
to send child sex material
[June 13, 2025]
By JEFFREY COLLINS
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A Republican member of the South Carolina House
who prosecutors say used the screen name “joebidennnn69” has been
arrested and charged with 10 counts of distributing sexual abuse
material involving children.
RJ May was arrested at his Lexington County home after a lengthy
investigation and was ordered Thursday by a federal judge to remain
jailed until his trial.
The three-term Republican is accused of using “joebidennnn69” to
exchange 220 different files of toddlers and young children involved in
sex acts on the Kik social media network for about five days in spring
2024, according to court documents that graphically detailed the videos.
Each charge carries a five-to-20 year prison sentence upon conviction
and prosecutors suggested May could spend over a decade in prison if
found guilty.
The files were uploaded and downloaded using May's home Wi-Fi network
and his cellphone, prosecutors said. Some were hidden by the use of a
private network but others were directly linked to his internet
addresses.
May says someone else could have used his Wi-Fi
At his arraignment, May's lawyer suggested someone could have used the
Wi-Fi password that was shown on a board behind a photo May's wife may
have posted online. Attorney Dayne Phillips also suggested investigators
didn't link each Kik message directly to May.
Prosecutors asked that May, 38, not be given bail because he lives at
home with his wife and young children, and some of the files he is
accused of sharing feature children of about the same age as his.
May investigated for paid sex in Colombia
Prosecutors said they also investigated whether May used a fake name to
travel to Colombia three times after finding videos on his laptop of him
allegedly having sex with three women. An agent from the Department of
Homeland Security testified the women appeared to be underage and were
paid. U.S. agents have not been able to locate the women.
Prosecutors said May created a Facebook account with his fake name and
his internet history showed him switching between his real account and
the fake one and even searching his primary opponent from the fake
login.
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South Carolina Rep. RJ May, R-West Columbia, walks down the aisle of
the House on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, in Columbia, South Carolina.
(AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins, File)
Phillips, May's lawyer, told the courtroom that no sexual images of
toddlers or young children were found directly on his laptop or
cellphone.
After spending the night in jail. May appeared in court Thursday in
shorts and a T-shirt with his wrists and ankles in cuffs. After
being ordered to stay in jail, he appeared to blow a kiss at his
wife, who was at the hearing.
May's political rise to the state House
After May's election in 2020, he helped create the Freedom Caucus, a
group of the House's most conservative members who say mainstream
House Republicans aren't the true conservative heart of the GOP. He
also helped the campaigns of Republicans running against GOP House
incumbents.
“We as legislators have an obligation to insure that our children
have no harm done to them,” May said in January 2024 on the House
floor during a debate on transgender care for minors.
His son charmed the House in April 2021 when May brought him to
visit for his third birthday and the boy practiced his parade wave
around the chamber.
The Freedom Caucus released a statement Wednesday night saying they
kicked May out of their group after his arrest.
May spent a quiet 2025 House session
Many of his onetime friends have distanced themselves from May as
rumors of the investigation spread through the Statehouse. During
the current session he could largely be seen at his corner desk in
the back of the 124-seat chamber, mixing with very few colleagues.
The House Speaker suspended May from his seat after the indictment.
May's lawyer suggested he could have been framed and asked the
Homeland Security agent if she knew that May had a lot of political
enemies.
“There are a fair amount of people who don't like me either, Mr.
Phillips,” agent Britton Lorenzen replied.
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