Hearings set for sex trafficking defendants – The Island News – Beaufort, SC

By Delayna Earley and Mike McCombs

Island news

On Friday, July 19, two of the men arrested June 11 on sex trafficking charges in Beaufort County will begin their preliminary hearings at the Beaufort County Detention Center.

Guy Frank Talley III, 27, of Okatie, and William James Youmans, 34, of Beaufort, are scheduled to appear for their preliminary hearings at 9:30 a.m., before Magistrate Judge LaShonda Green Scott, according to court documents.

The third man arrested in Beaufort, Alban Bryan, 63, of St. Helena Island, currently does not have a preliminary hearing date listed on his criminal record as of Tuesday, June 25.

Bryan is represented by public defender Colin J. Hamilton, but the other two men do not have documented representation, according to court records.

Hunter Swanson of the 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office is listed as prosecutor in all three cases.

Preliminary hearings for Talley and Youmans were originally scheduled for Friday, June 28, but Swanson requested an extension, pushing back the date.

While there have been no official updates from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) regarding the sex trafficking enterprise in Beaufort and Jasper counties, some new details are appeared.

A man and woman were arrested by Hardeeville Town Police and, as Chief Sam Woodward said Island news While the arrests are linked to the sex trafficking enterprise, as of Tuesday, June 25, a SLED spokesperson was unable to confirm the connection.

As previously reported, Terrance Lamar Fields, 50, was arrested and charged with human trafficking, victim under the age of 18, and according to court documents, he remains in custody at the Jasper County Detention Center and has not not had his preliminary hearing.

Woodward said Fields was arrested as “John,” a term used for a male client of prostitution who pays or exchanges something of value for sexual acts.

“He was arrested because he was one of the people having sex with these minors,” Woodward said.

Additionally, a 20-year-old woman named Ilaife Sylvia Meredith of Beaufort was arrested by Hardeeville Town Police on June 13 and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to court records.

Woodward said Island news that Meredith was arrested in Hampton County and brought back to Jasper County where she was detained at the Jasper County Detention Center.

Court records show Meredith and Fields were arrested by Master Patrol Officer Angela Serrano of the Hampton City Police Department.

Ilaife Sylvia Meredith was misidentified in a previous article based on information posted on the Town of Hardeeville Police Department's Facebook page. His first and middle names have been transposed.

“The only thing I can tell you is that she facilitated the transportation of some minors from Beaufort to Hardeeville and gave them a place to hide while all this was happening,” Chief Woodward said . “That’s all I can tell you so far about this investigation with her.”

Meredith had her bond hearing on June 13 and was released on $10,000 bond on June 17.

His first court appearance is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 23 at 9 a.m. in Jasper County.

To summarize the case, four men and one woman have so far been arrested in connection with a human trafficking operation in Beaufort County.

Bryan, Talley and Youmans face the most serious charge of human trafficking, victim under 18 years of age. They remain confined at the Beaufort County Detention Center.

A source confirmed to Island news Jaquan Duvall Barnes, 28, of Port Royal, who recently escaped from the Jasper County Detention Center, is also linked to the case. He escaped the day before the arrest warrants in this case were served.

Barnes already faces the same charge following his March 5 arrest after allegedly fleeing police during a traffic stop. He was found with a missing minor girl from Beaufort County in the car with him.

Barnes remains at large.

According to sources, law enforcement, led by the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), conducted raids on June 11 at several residences in Beaufort County, collecting evidence and making several arrests in connection with a human trafficking operation in Beaufort County.

These sources said Island news that several men had used the promise of employment to lure several underage women to one or more locations where they were instead drugged, drunk, held against their will and forced to have sex with paying customers.

The dates the trafficking took place, according to the arrest warrants, ranged from February 1, 2024 to March 5, 2024.

Little is publicly known about the victims in this case, except that there are at least several. Sources confirmed Island news there are several victims and at least one of the victims is barely 14 years old.

Although SLED confirmed the investigation and initial arrests, it provided little additional information.

According to SLED's press release, “the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, Beaufort Police Department, Jasper County Sheriff's Office, Hardeeville Police Department, 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office and the “U.S. Homeland Security Investigations are working together on the active and ongoing investigation.”

Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, previously worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be contacted at [email protected].