Darlington man arrested in Internet predator sting

By Morning News Staff Reports

Published: May 20, 2008

A Darlington man has been arrested in an undercover Internet sting conducted by the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, according to a press release issued Tuesday morning by Attorney General Henry McMaster’s office.

Wade Joe Brumett, 43, of 138 Geneva Drive, was arrested May 13 and charged with four counts of criminal solicitation of a minor, a felony. He was assigned a $50,000 bond.

The case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s office. If convicted, Brumett faces up to 10 years in prison for each count.

Arrest warrants allege that beginning April 21, Brumett solicited sex on the Internet from a person he believed to be a 12-year-old girl but was really a Sumter County sheriff’s deputy.

Darlington County sheriff’s deputies assisted in the arrest and execution of a search warrant that resulted in the seizure of two laptop computers. The computers will be subject to forensic examination by the State Law Enforcement Division.

The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office is a member of the Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Brumett’s arrest is the 124th one made by the task force.