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COLUMBIA, S.C. — Former South Carolina Rep. Robert John “RJ” May III was sentenced on Jan. 14, 2026, to 210 months (17.5 years) in federal prison after pleading guilty to five counts of distributing child sexual abuse material, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina.
U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie also imposed 20 years of supervised release after the prison term, ordered $58,500 in restitution to identified victims, and required May to register as a sex offender for life, federal prosecutors said.
Editor’s note: This report discusses criminal charges involving child sexual abuse material. Details of the material are not described.
Federal authorities said the investigation began after the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The tip reported that dozens of videos containing child sexual abuse material were uploaded using Kik from an IP address tied to West Columbia, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors said the Kik account linked to the case contained 220 unique videos and distributed hundreds of videos to more than 100 users over roughly five days, along with more than 1,100 messages discussing child sexual abuse material.
May, a Republican who represented House District 88, was first arrested on federal charges in June 2025. He later resigned his seat while the case was pending, as previously reported by PBS NewsHour. The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced in late September 2025 that May pleaded guilty to five counts of distributing child sexual abuse material.
At sentencing, prosecutors asked for a longer prison term than the defense. Coverage by the South Carolina Daily Gazette and reporting distributed by the Associated Press described emotional testimony from victims and family members, and arguments over how severe a sentence was warranted.
May had been a featured speaker at Moms for Liberty events, including a 2022 “Reclaiming Education in America” program listing him among speakers on the organization’s event portal. (See the speaker list here.)
Multiple outlets have also reported that Moms for Liberty recognized May as a 2023 “Legislator of the Year”. For example, LGBTQ Nation reported that he was honored by the group in 2023.
May is also facing a separate South Carolina Department of Revenue case alleging he failed to file and pay state income taxes for multiple years. The agency announced those charges in a November 2025 release posted on its website. That case remains pending.
After sentencing, May filed a notice of appeal in late January 2026, according to Spectrum News. The conviction and sentence remain in effect unless changed by the appellate court.
Case status (as of Feb. 23, 2026): Federal conviction and sentence entered; appeal pending; separate state tax case pending.
