SLED Arrest Warrants Propose to Examine Alleged Sex Trafficking Scheme in Beaufort County; 5 people arrested

Arrest documents recently released by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division provide insight into an alleged sex trafficking operation run from residences in northern Beaufort County. The multi-department investigation precipitated a series of rapid arrests earlier this week — but it was unclear Thursday whether the case was part of a broader network of organized sex abuse.

The case was a collaboration between federal Homeland Security Investigations and several local law enforcement agencies, including the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, Jasper County Sheriff's Office, of the 14th Circuit Solicitor and the Beaufort City and Hardeeville Police Departments.

Homeland Security Investigations typically partners with municipal or county law enforcement to investigate allegations of sex trafficking, including recent raids on two properties owned by rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs.

A dark “project” in Beaufort County

SLED affidavits indicate the state agency found significant evidence of an ongoing human sex trafficking scheme in at least two of the suspects' homes in Beaufort and St. Helena Island. The three defendants charged with trafficking: Alban Bryan, 63, of St. Helena Island; Guy Frank Talley, 27, of Okatie; and William James Youmans, 34, of Beaufort, recruited an unspecified number of victims into the operation despite knowing they were under 18, documents state.

Bryan and Youmans allegedly provided “accommodation and narcotics” to a minor girl while encouraging her to participate in the trafficking conspiracy, leading to their charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Both men apparently knew the victims had been reported missing, including one by the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office.

Talley was also charged with second- and third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor for allegedly possessing and distributing sexually explicit images of children on his cell phone. Its warrants do not specify whether the minor depicted in the document was also a victim in the trafficking case.

A fourth suspect named in the SLED release, St. Helena resident Samuel Cyrus Blackmon, 37, was charged Sunday only with simple possession of marijuana. Agency spokeswoman Renée Wunderlich would not say whether his arrest stemmed from a broader investigation into sex trafficking.

A fifth arrest was made Monday, when Hardeeville police jailed Beaufort resident Terrance Fields, 49, on the same child trafficking charge. Police Chief Sam Woodward said the case was linked to the SLED investigation, but Wunderlich could not confirm the connection Thursday afternoon.

Warrants provided by SLED indicate the crimes in question were committed in February and March 2024, suggesting a months-long investigation leading up to the suspects' arrest on Sunday. Wunderlich would not say how long SLED had been involved in the case or how authorities were alerted to the alleged trafficking operation.

None of the five suspects were listed in SLED's National Sex Offender Registry, a database containing the names of most South Carolina residents who have been convicted of sex crimes. While Bryan and Fields appear to have no significant criminal records in Beaufort and Jasper counties, the rest of the group has dozens of prior convictions: Blackmon for drug possession, domestic violence and lying to police; Talley for cocaine trafficking, burglary and possession of a stolen pistol; and Youmans for theft, animal cruelty and felonious assault.

This week's arrests come three months after Port Royal resident Jaquan Duvall Barnes, a previously convicted sex offender, was jailed on the same trafficking charge after Hardeeville police allegedly arrested him for tracking down a girl minor missing in her car.

As of Thursday afternoon, Barnes remained on the run following his escape from the Jasper County Detention Center earlier this week. SLED quickly took over the manhunt and conducted an investigation into how the inmate managed to escape.

Anyone with additional information about this case or others is encouraged to call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888 or text 233733 (BeFree). Tipsters can also contact SLED directly at 803-896-7400 or [email protected].