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by WILL FOLKS
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A federal judge has sentenced a confessed child sex abuser to decades behind bars for his role in the exploitation of two minor children, the production of child pornography and the sexual abuse of two children – one in South Carolina and the other in Brazil.
U.S. district court judge Sherri Lydon handed down a 40-year sentence this week to Stephen Todd Greene, 55, of West Columbia. Greene previously pleaded guilty to engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places, producing child sexual abuse material, and coercing and enticing a minor.
“Evidence obtained in the (federal) investigation revealed that Greene initiated an online relationship with a woman in Brazil that had access to two minor females, one was eight years old, and the other was two years old,” a news release from the office of U.S. attorney Bryan Stirling noted. “Greene solicited child sexual abuse images and videos of the minors for his own sexual gratification, which he directed via livestream. He later had cameras installed in one of the child’s bedrooms, which provided him with 24/7 remote access to the child.”
Stirling’s office added that in July 2024, Greene “travelled to Brazil and sexually abused one of the minor victims on several occasions.”
“He further admitted to prior sexual abuse of at least one child in South Carolina,” the release added.
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When investigators with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) searched Greene’s devices, they obtained more than 250 images and 100 videos of child pornography, also known as child sex abuse material (“CSAM”).
Lydon’s 40-year prison term would be followed by a 15-year term of supervised release. As there is no parole in the federal system, Greene would serve every day of the forty years.
Greene’s case was investigated by the FBI Columbia Field Office and the Brazilian Federal Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elliott B. Daniels and Elle E. Klein handled the prosecution.
Greene’s sentencing comes just days before former S.C. state representative Robert John “RJ” May III is scheduled to learn his fate on similar charges. May pleaded guilty in September 2025 to five counts of distributing child pornography. His is one of two recent high-profile CSAM cases in the Palmetto State, the other being the shockingly graphic case of disgraced former Charleston County magistrate James B. Gosnell.
Count on FITSNews to provide coverage of May’s sentencing hearing as well as any pertinent updates related to Gosnell’s case. Also, count on us to continue advocating on behalf of the maximum punishment for those who engage in such atrocities on children.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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1 comment
One quick pardon from the bird-of-a-feather-in-chief and this guy could be working at the DOJ.