Sumter man sentenced to five years in prison for sexual exploitation of a minor

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)– On Friday, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that Anthony Ray “Hammer” Nielson was sentenced to five years in prison for sexual exploitation of a minor charges.

According to officials, Nielson sent child sexual abuse material to Special Investigator Kevin Atkins with the Attorney General’s Office back in August 2016. Officials say officers executed a search warrant of Nielson’s residence and seized computer-related items where they found files containing child sexual abuse material and file sharing software. Authorities say Nielson fled to Georgia where he was arrested in October 2017.

Authorities say that on December 4, 2019, Nielson pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, 2nd degree, and one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, 3rd degree. Authorities say health problems delayed Nielson’s sentencing to October 30, 2020, where he received a sentence of five years in prison for the sexual exploitation charges. Additionally, officials say he must register as a sex offender at the conclusion of his sentence.

According to authorities, Nielson also pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine in an unrelated case.