COLUMBIA — Former state Rep. RJ May will plead guilty to five counts of distributing child sex abuse material online, according to federal court public records data base.
May, who has been acting as his own lawyer, was originally indicted on 10 counts of distributing child pornography.
The document in federal court public records data base was signed Sept. 24 by May. Federal prosecutors signed it this morning.
Each count carries a maximum of twenty years in jail.
He was scheduled to go to trial next month for what was envisioned as at least a week of court time.
He’d also tried to challenge some of the evidence prosecutors had amassed against him from an Aug. 2024 search of his home that centered on his electronic devices.
May, a married father of two, is not an attorney. Outside of his role as a state representative, he owned a political consulting firm, Ivory Tusk, where he ran campaigns, sometimes against seated Republicans in the House.
He was once a conservative firebrand in the House representing Lexington County but was charged with a slew of allegations behind sending or receiving more than 1,000 messages containing child sex abuse material during a six-day stretch from March 30, 2024, to April 4, 2024, according to the criminal case filed against him.
He resigned from his position in the House on Aug. 11 and has had several court hearings since.
He had maintained his innocence, and his legal team previously suggested his computer devices were hacked by a political enemy. He is currently being held at the Edgefield County Detention Center.
Anna Wilder covers politics for the Post and Courier. She previously worked as a political reporter for The State newspaper. She’s a Florida native and a graduate of the University of Florida. Her work has appeared in outlets like Politico, Miami Herald and the Associated Press.
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This is a developing story and will be updated.