CCSO: Man arrested on slew of child sex crimes, possession of weapon

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – A man was arrested Wednesday on multiple charges of sexual exploitation of a minor, according to an affidavit.

Richard Jarecki, 29, is charged with four counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, Charleston County jail records show.

After a tip was submitted to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, deputies with the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office learned of numerous files transferred that showed children involved in sexual acts.

Affidavits state a user of an undisclosed social media site shared a video on May 15, 2022, showing a child (four to six years old) involved in sexual acts, the affidavits state.

There was another video of similar nature shared the same day showing a child around the age of three to five years old.

On June 3, 2022, detectives learned of another video depicting a child between the age of six to eight years old.

The files were shared from social media accounts registered to an IP address belonging to Jareck. Authorities then seized a cell phone connected to an email account tied to Jarecki and other social media accounts he used.

While deputies searched Jarecki’s residence, they found three firearms and 11 boxes of ammunition.

Jarecki admitted during an interview that he was previously denied the purchase of a firearm in June 2022 due to prior criminal convictions, affidavits read.

He is currently held at the Al Cannon Detention Center on a $50,000 bond.