COLUMBIA, S.C. () – A federal grand jury in Greenville returned a 10-count indictment against Robert John May III, 38, of West Columbia, for distributing child sexual abuse material.

May is a South Carolina State Representative and one of the co-founders of the Freedom Caucus.

The group released a statement on Facebook supporting May:

According to court documents and statements made in court, in April 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a cyber-tip from the social messaging app Kik.

Kik flagged several videos from the username “joebidennnn69” as containing child sexual abuse.

Investigators connected the account to the home IP address and mobile device of May and identified at least 10 videos depicting child sexual abuse that were shared from the account.

May faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison with a minimum of five years, a fine of $250,000, and a term of at least five years of supervised release to follow any term of imprisonment.

He is due in court Thursday morning.