COLUMBIA, S.C. — Wesley Keith Zimmer, 31, of Fort Mill, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for transportation of child sexual abuse material.*
Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that Zimmer possessed, transported, and distributed child sexual abuse material. He additionally solicited two children to produce child sexual abuse material and sent sexually explicit images to one minor.
In May 2024, FBI agents received information that Zimmer was communicating with a 13-year-old girl on the website quora.com. After learning the girl’s age, Zimmer continued to send sexually explicit images to the victim and eventually compelled the victim to send similar sexually explicit pictures of herself back to him. Zimmer directed the victim to delete their chats and provided instructions on how to remove messages from her device. Additionally, Zimmer specifically directed the child to delete the images she sent to him from her WhatsApp chat.
A review of Zimmer’s electronic devices, including an iPad, an iPhone and a laptop, revealed Zimmer was in communication with another minor victim on Snapchat. The Snapchat communication between Zimmer, an adult male and a 15-year-old girl revealed several screenshot CSAM images taken by Zimmer, which appeared to be from “live” audio/video Snapchat groups with the three of them as participants. Zimmer distributed the screenshot CSAM images from the Snapchat group to the adult male and the 15-year-old girl.
FBI agents reviewed several historical National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Cybertips regarding Zimmer and his alleged online activity involving CSAM. The Cybertip indicated that the CSAM images were downloaded by Zimmer in North Carolina. FBI agents executed a search warrant on Zimmer’s residence in South Carolina. They found 364 “visually unique” CSAM images on Zimmer’s iPhone that were identical to many of the images found in the NCMEC Cybertips. Zimmer transported those images from North Carolina to his residence in South Carolina.
United States District Judge Sherri A. Lydon sentenced Zimmer to 240 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by a lifetime term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system. He was also ordered to pay $48,500 in restitution to the victims.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC .
This case was investigated by the FBI Columbia Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Lothrop Morris prosecuted 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.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — South Carolina — U.S. Department of Justice press release.