South Carolina judge charged with sex crimes for explicit photos of minor on phone, SLED says - WYFF4 Greenville

South Carolina justice charged with enactment crimes for explicit photos of insignificant connected phone, SLED says

LANCASTER COUNTY, S.C. —

A South Carolina judge, who had antecedently been told to delete inappropriate photos from his phone, was charged with enactment crimes involving a insignificant earlier this period for having those aforesaid photos connected his phone, according to warrants provided by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

Renée Wunderlich, with SLED, said Johnny Ray Steele, 75, of Lancaster, faces second-degree intersexual exploitation of a insignificant and 2 counts of third-degree intersexual exploitation of a minor.

Steele is simply a Municipal Court justice successful Fort Lawn, Wunderlich said, a municipality of astir 895 people.

Warrants stated the crimes happened connected oregon astir August 5 successful Lancaster County.

They said Steele utilized an iPhone to substance a photograph of a insignificant "in a authorities of sexually explicit nudity" and saved it to his camera roll.

Steele besides had 15 photos saved successful the phone's Notes exertion of the insignificant "in assorted states of undress" and explicit nudity, according to the warrants.

"The photos could beryllium inferred for the intent of intersexual stimulations," the warrants read.

The warrants besides stated that Steele "had antecedently had the aforesaid sexually explicit photos deleted from his telephone connected July 20, 2022, during an interrogation with SLED ... and was expressly told they were inappropriate to person successful his possession and Steele denied they were anyplace other connected the phone."

The warrants were dated Nov. 4.