Jasper Co. Sex Trafficking Suspect Escapes Prison; police search Monday afternoon

Authorities in Jasper County are searching for a Port Royal man who escaped from the county jail, the sheriff's office said in a public alert issued Monday afternoon.

The escapee was named Jaquan Duvall Barnes, a 5-foot-2, 28-year-old black man with brown hair and brown eyes. He weighs 150 pounds and his home is 1793 Old Shell Road in Port Royal, the agency's flier says.

Barnes was arrested on charges of sex trafficking of a minor after Hardeeville police stopped his vehicle on March 5. Inside the car, officers found a minor girl who “knew the suspect” and had been reported missing from Beaufort County.

This incident was far from Barnes' first sex crime charge: In 2015, he pleaded guilty in Beaufort County Court to two counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, an offense for possession of child pornography or child pornography.

Arthur S. Benjamin, director of the Jasper County Detention Center, said the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is assisting in the search and investigating the reasons for the escape. He declined to answer additional questions, including whether Barnes is considered dangerous to the public.

The Jasper County Detention Center is located at 12008 North Jacob Smart Blvd in Ridgeland, in the same building as the county Law Enforcement Center.

Anyone with information on Barnes' whereabouts is encouraged to call 911 or the Jasper County non-emergency dispatch line at 843-726-7519.