SOUTH CAROLINA (WSPA) – Former South Carolina State Representative Robert John “RJ” May III has pleaded guilty to five federal counts of distributing child sexual abuse material. He will not continue with his scheduled trail on October 9.

May and the Government filed a joint plea agreement with federal prosecutors, a different version, which was slightly amended was formally signed and approved by a federal judge on Monday, September 29. The former lawmaker now faces a sentencing hearing scheduled for January 14, 2026. Each count carries a minimum of 5 years and up to 20 years in prison, $250,000 in fines, supervised release of 5 years to life, and mandatory lifetime registration as a sex offender.

The investigation into May began in 2024, when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a cyber tip from the social messaging app Kik, which flagged child sexual abuse materials being distributed through its platform.

Investigators traced the activity back to May’s home IP address and cell phone, ultimately identifying the use of aliases such as “joebidennnn69” and “Eric Rentling” to distribute explicit content. Federal agents later found that May had shared over 470 files in just five days, all depicting the sexual abuse of children.

“These files are shared over and over again….Every download re-victimizes these children and fuels this evil industry,” said Stirling.

According to Stirling, the evidence includes hundreds of unique, non-duplicated videos of children being sexually abused some as young as infants and toddlers.

He said there are 62 victims and 21 of them have been identified. Stirling added, “These are the most vulnerable among us. Children who are not even old enough to protect themselves.”

Prosecutors described the scope of evidence as overwhelming, including 10,000 pages of discovery and lots of digital evidence. The Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section was also brought in to support the investigation.

May had initially planned to represent himself at trial, but Monday requested that his public defenders take over, the judge granted his request.

“There’s not going to be a trial, so there’s no risk. You never know what a jury is going to do. Although the evidence obviously was overwhelming, so this gives us certainty that he pled to five counts and he will serve time,” said Stirling.

Scott Matthews, the Assistant U.S. Attorney and Lead Prosecutor, in case said, “The counts that do get dismissed are still considered and held against him, so we don’t feel the sentence would be any substantively different, whether it was five counts or ten counts.”

He added that there were 958 files containing child pornography sent from May’s home. Matthews said it’s important to note, May’s home Wi-Fi is password protected.

Under federal sentencing guidelines, the judge will decide, after a report and interviews from the US Probation office, whether the five sentences will run concurrently or consecutively. If served consecutively, May could theoretically face five years-100 years in prison.

“This is a win for the prosecution,” said Bill Nettles, attorney. “He’s been prosecuted. He’s pled guilty. It’s public knowledge. He’s going to prison. Whether it’s five years or 20, for someone like him, his life is, for all intents and purposes, over.”

By signing the agreement, May cannot appeal, try to get parole, or potentially run to be a Lawmaker again. As well, he cannot vote in elections, own a firearm, or serve on a jury. He will also forfeit his electronic devices and pay restitution to the identified victims.