Beaufort County child sex trafficking case grows larger; former escaped inmate charged

Agents at the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division have arrested a former escaped inmate in connection with an alleged sex trafficking ring in northern Beaufort County, making for a total of seven suspects in the quickly growing investigation. The newest defendant was also formally charged for his breakaway from the Jasper County Detention Center in early June.

Port Royal resident Jaquan Duvall Barnes, 29, was charged Friday morning with human trafficking of a child, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, unlawful escape, two counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and two counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. The exploitation charges pertain to his alleged possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material that was found on his cellphone using a search warrant.

Already a convicted sex offender, Barnes initially faced the trafficking charge after Hardeeville police pulled him over on March 5 and found an underage girl inside his car . State agents allege he provided transport, housing and narcotics while “encouraging the sex trafficking of the minor victim,” who had been reported missing out of Beaufort County.

Trafficking exchanges reportedly took place in Barnes’ residence in the 29906 zip code, which includes parts of Beaufort, Burton and other communities in northern Beaufort County. That’s the third known location used in the alleged sex trafficking “scheme,” including a home on St. Helena Island (29920) said to belong to Alban Bryan and at least one Beaufort property (zip code 29902) linked to Guy Frank Talley III or William James Youmans.

Although Barnes’ arrest warrants were signed by a judge June 5 — the same day as the other defendants — he escaped the Jasper County jail around June 10, a day before the warrants were executed. Records for his escape charge accuse him of breaking out of the facility “with the use of tools and a prior arranged escape plan.”

Sheriff’s deputies in Jacksonville, Florida caught the fugitive during a traffic stop on July 7 and he was extradited to the Beaufort County Detention Center on Friday, filings show.

As part of a separate case, a grand jury in Boston last month indicted six people, including three men from the Lowcountry , in what prosecutors are calling a “chilling” sex trafficking operation that spanned South Carolina and the upper east coast.

How many have been charged so far?

The case is a massive collaborative effort between the federal Homeland Security Investigations and several local law enforcement agencies, including the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office and the city police departments of Beaufort and Hardeeville.

Warrants provided by SLED indicate the crimes in question were committed in February and March of 2024, suggesting a monthslong investigation that preceded June’s initial arrests . Agencies have remained silent about how long the probe had lasted or how authorities were first alerted to the alleged trafficking operation.

The case’s seven current suspects are as follows:

• Jaquan Duvall Barnes, 29, of Port Royal: Human trafficking of a minor, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, unlawful escape, two counts each of second-degree and third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor
• Alban Bryan, 63, of St. Helena : Human trafficking of a minor, contributing to the delinquency of a minor

• Terrance Lamar Fields, 50, of Beaufort: Two counts of human trafficking of a minor

• Guy Frank Talley III, 27, of Okatie: Human trafficking of a minor, second-degree and third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor
• William James Youmans, 34, of Beaufort: Human trafficking of a minor, contributing to the delinquency of a minor
• Samuel Cyrus Blackmon, 37, of St. Helena : Simple possession of marijuana
• Ilaife Sylvia Meredith, 20, of Beaufort: Contributing to the delinquency of a minor

Hardeeville Chief of Police Sam Woodward told The Island News that Fields was arrested as a “John,” a term used for male clients who participate in trafficking rings by purchasing sex acts. Meredith allegedly helped to transport some of the underage girls from Beaufort to Hardeeville and “gave them a place to stay,” he said.

Blackmon was arrested as part of the same group in early June and named in SLED’s media release, although it was unclear how his misdemeanor drug charge was linked to the alleged sex trafficking investigation.

Preliminary hearings for Bryan and Youmans are scheduled for Friday in Beaufort Magistrate Court, dockets show.

The case will be prosecuted by Hunter Swanson, a prosecutor for the Special Victims Unit of the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

Anyone with additional information on this case or others is encouraged to call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888 or text 233733 (BeFree). Tipsters can also contact SLED directly at 803-896-7400 or tips@sled.sc.gov.