Chief Terrence Green is announcing the arrest of Joshua Lenard Rivers, age 30 of North, South Carolina, after an undercover investigation where he traveled to the Town of Lexington to meet with a minor for sex, who was instead an undercover detective.
In early February of this year, a detective with the Lexington Police Department, who is on the South Carolina Attorney General Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), was contacted by Joshua Rivers through social media, believing that the profile was of a young teenage girl. Online conversations between the undercover detective and Joshua Rivers continued over the next two months.
On April 3, 2023, Joshua Rivers drove to the Town of Lexington to meet with who he believed was a teenage girl to have sex with her. When he arrived at the meeting location, he was arrested by detectives of the Lexington Police Department and transported to the Lexington County Detention Center.
Joshua Rivers has been charged with Dissemination of Obscene Material to a Person Under 18 Years of Age, Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor, three counts of Criminal Solicitation of a Minor, and three counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, First Degree
When seen at Lexington County Bond Court, Joshua Rivers was given a bond of $12,000 and a restriction of having no unsupervised contact with a minor.
During the course of this investigation, Joshua River admitted to talking online with underage girls and detectives believe that there may be other victims. If you have information and would like to report an incident, please contact Detective Earl Alewine at 803-358-7262 or by email at ealewine@lexsc.com.