A former Republican lawmaker in South Carolina was sentenced Wednesday to 17 1/2 years in prison for sending hundreds of videos of children being sexually abused to people across the country on social media around the same time he was advocating for laws meant to protect kids.
“He claimed to be their advocate by sponsoring bills in the legislature, but he was their abuser with videos that will live on forever,” the judge said.
RJ May had sought a shorter sentence, saying he was addicted to pornography and screens. He apologized briefly to the victims in a 15-minute statement to the court. He said he began watching adult pornography when testosterone treatments increased his sex drive, and then sought out more extreme videos when he was lonely at night.
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