Columbia man used Facebook, cellphone to get young teens to trade sex for meth

Using Facebook and a cellphone to make contact, a Columbia man gave 15- and 16-year-old high school girls methamphetamine in exchange for sex.

The drugs-for-sex scheme was revealed in a U.S. District Court hearing Tuesday in Columbia in which Jeremy Bowen, 38, pleaded guilty to various charges, including manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine and using instruments of interstate commerce — Facebook, Facebook Messenger and a cellphone — to have sex with minors.

U.S. District Court Judge Terry Wooten told Bowen he could receive from 10 years to life in prison on the charges. Wooten said he would hand down a sentence after federal probation officials study Bowen’s history and make a recommendation.

Bowen’s activities were uncovered last year when one of his victims told workers at the S.C. Department of Mental Health, who contacted the Columbia Police Department. The FBI was later brought into the case because, in part, of the multiple child victims.

“The defendant would distribute meth to the children in order to have sex with them,” assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Richardson told Judge Wooten.

Had Bowen gone to trial, evidence in the case would have included witnesses who would have testified against him and “extensive electronic evidence,” Richardson said.

Bowen either would pick the girls up from their unidentified Lexington County alternative school or send someone else to get them, Richardson said. Bowen was not connected with the school, the prosecutor said.

“The defendant had sex with at least three girls who attended an alternative school,” Richardson told the judge. Richardson did not identify the school.

Two of the girls were 15 and one was 16, Richardson said.

Bowen, who appeared in court in a red jail jump suit, leg irons and belly-handcuff chains, had a tattoo on his private parts that the girls each were able to describe, Richardson told the judge.

Before accepting the guilty plea, Wooten questioned Bowen, asking, “You made contact with them with the intent of having sex?”

Bowen, who told the judge he had a seventh-grade education, replied: “Yes, sir.”

Bowen was arrested in late May of last year.

In 2014, he and his then-girlfriend were charged with meth use and unlawful conduct toward a child after a meth lab blew up in their mobile home off Alpine Road.

Richland County court records show most of the charges against Bowen connected with that incident were dismissed and he was given probation on one charge.

Methamphetamine is a highly addictive illegal drug. Users who become addicts often suffer from weight loss, dental problems, violent behavior and severe anxiety and paranoia, according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse.

This story was originally published July 17, 2018 at 1:23 PM.