Daniel Prince
Bishop sentenced to 10 years in prison
Attorney General Alan Wilson announced yesterday that Douglas Bishop of Union County pled guilty Tuesday to two counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.
Investigator Kevin Atkins with the Attorney General’s Office’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigated the use of an online file sharing program for the sharing and distribution of child sexual abuse material. He started his investigation on November 28, 2017 and found one user sharing numerous files that violated SC state law. Atkins obtained a search warrant for a residence in Union County and conducted the search on December 20, 2017.
Bishop lived in a basement or garage apartment, and other residents identified him as a registered sex offender. A computer located in the bedroom was examined, and image and video files of child sexual abuse material were found on an attached external hard drive. Law enforcement traveled to where Bishop worked, but he had fled the shop after learning that law enforcement had arrived at the home. Eventually, he was found out of state and returned to South Carolina for prosecution in December 2020. A forensic examination of the computer-related items seized in this case revealed Bishop had more than 56,000 images and 182 videos of child pornography.
Judge Mark Hayes sentenced Bishop to 10 years in prison on all charges, to be served concurrently. He received credit for 350 days’ time served. He will have to continue to register as a sex offender, and he forfeited his seized devices.