5 men from SC and NC charged in York County, federal Internet child sex case
York County deputies have charged five people in a sex investigation that pursued suspects who sought underage victims over the Internet, York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson said.
The five arrests came after an unrelated group had been charged in April, Tolson said in a statement.
Two of the suspects are from North Carolina, including one from neighboring Charlotte, jail and arrest records show. The other three are from South Carolina, including two from neighboring Lancaster County, records show.
“Let this send a strong message to any child predator, if you hunt our children you will become the hunted,” Tolson said in a statement.
According to arrest warrants obtained by The Herald, the suspects used social media apps to communicate for purposes of sex with persons believed to be minors. The suspects sought victims as young as 12, warrants show.
Some of the charges involved illegal images sent over the Internet either by a suspect or sought by a suspect, according to arrest warrants.
The suspects
According to warrants and sheriff documents, the people facing charges are:
- Matthew Ray Bolick, 53, of Charlotte, charged with criminal solicitation of a minor.
- Larry Donell Rogers, 67, of Greenville, S.C., charged with first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and criminal solicitation of a minor.
- Jeffrey Dennis Rape, 61, of Heath Springs, charged with first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, criminal solicitation of a minor, and dissemination of obscene material to a minor.
- Carl Lee Taylor Jr., 48, of Hickory, N.C., charged with first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, criminal solicitation of a minor, and dissemination of obscene material to a minor.
- Caleb Israel Strope, 20, of Indian Land in Lancaster County, charged with first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, criminal solicitation of a minor, and dissemination of obscene material to a minor.
Third set set of arrests in two years
The series of arrests is the third in two years by York deputies working on Internet crimes where children are victims. In November 2019, deputies stated 10 people had been charged in an Internet child sex investigation. The other series of arrests was in April 2021.
Tolson said the office will continue to coordinate sexual crimes against children investigations with federal and South Carolina police.
York County deputies worked with the FBI, Homeland Security investigators, SLED, and other South Carolina police agencies from York, Rock Hill, Fort Mill, Lancaster and other counties, officials said. The investigation is similar to others in South Carolina and around the country that target Internet child predators through the S.C. Attorney General Internet Crime Against Children task force, according to deputies and Homeland Security officials.
This story was originally published September 7, 2021 at 3:22 PM.
