House GOP leader files ethics complaint against South Carolina lawmaker indicted on federal child sex crime charges
State Rep. RJ May (R-Lexington), 38, was taken into custody June 11 in Lexington County following a more than one-year-long investigation into alleged child sexual exploitation crimes.
A Greenville grand jury indicted May on 10 counts of distributing child sexual abuse material, and a federal judge ordered him Thursday to remain behind bars while awaiting trial.
House Majority Leader Davey Hiott (R-Pickens) said in a statement Friday that he has filed a complaint with the House Ethics Committee to investigate 'not only Mr. May, but his business dealings with other members of the State House of Representatives.'
'First and foremost, we are deeply disturbed by the charges against Mr. May, and we stand fully behind law enforcement in ensuring that anyone who commits these crimes is punished to the fullest extent of the law,' Hiott said, adding 'The conduct these charges allege are reprehensible, vile, and have no place in our society, let alone in the House of Representatives.'
It marks the first step in the process toward formally expelling May from the chamber, which would ultimately require a two-thirds vote once the ethics investigation has concluded.
House Speaker Murrell Smith (R-Sumter) confirmed June 12 that May had been suspended without pay but declined further comment.
State law requires the House Speaker to immediately suspend any member indicted on a felony charge in state or federal court. The suspension remains in effect until the member is acquitted, convicted, pleads guilty, or pleads no contest.
The governor cannot unilaterally expel members of the General Assembly.
The West Columbia lawmaker has represented District 88 since 2021 and helped form the hardline conservative South Carolina Freedom Caucus. He also founded Ivory Tusk Consulting, a political consulting and public relations firm for Republicans.
Freedom Caucus Chair Jordan Pace (R-Berkeley) said May was expelled from the group following news of the indictment but has not been involved with its operations since last August.
Pace, along with other members, has called for May's immediate resignation.
Prosecutors said the investigation began in April 2024 after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a cyber-tip from the social messaging app Kik, which had flagged several videos depicting child sexual abuse shared from the user 'joebidennnn69.'
At least 10 videos were shared from the account, which was later traced to May's West Columbia home IP address and mobile device.
Agents with Homeland Security Investigations seized nearly three dozen electronic devices belonging to May last August as part of the ongoing criminal investigation, according to a federal court filing. Those included laptops, cell phones, hard drives, and other devices.
A motion filed by federal prosecutors states that May used Kik to participate in 'multiple group chats dedicated to the trading of child pornography,' distributing approximately 220 different videos about 479 times over five days in early April, including instances where the same video was shared multiple times.
The document contains graphic details about the contents of the videos and states that May's activity on the app 'reveals he has sexual interest in children the same age as his own [two] children' and a 'sexual interest in incest' between parents and children.
This story is breaking and may be updated.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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