Skip to main content
Press Release

Lexington Resident Sentenced for Receiving Child Pornography

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of South Carolina

Contact Person: Bill Day (803) 929-3000

Columbia, South Carolina---- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Scott Eric Fernquist, age 22, of Lexington, South Carolina was sentenced in federal court in Columbia, South Carolina, for Receiving Child Pornography, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(2) and (b)(1).   United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis of Columbia sentenced Fernquist to 10 years imprisonment, $4,000 restitution, and 25 years of Supervised Release.  During his term of supervised release, Fernquist will be required to register as a sex offender, attend sex offender treatment, refrain from contact with children or use the internet without supervision, and submit to random polygraph examinations.

Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that Fernquist was trading child pornography on the internet in 2013 from April to June.

The case was investigated by agents of the Lexington Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).  Assistant United States Attorney William E. Day II of the Columbia office prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

#####

Updated April 20, 2017

Topic
Project Safe Childhood