SC veteran attorney in child sex exploitation case has law license suspended

A veteran Aiken attorney’s license to practice law has been suspended by the S.C. Supreme Court after his arrest on multiple charges related to the possession of sexual images of children.

The Supreme Court also ordered the assets and files of attorney W. Daniel “Danny” Mayes to be seized, including his client trust accounts, and put under the protection of a court receiver. Such a move is standard in cases of suspension.

Biographical information on Mayes has been removed from the webpage of the Aiken County law firm where he worked. His name is no longer visible on the S.C. Bar public index.

An Internet lawyers’ directory said Mayes had specialized for 28 years in worker’s compensation law and also handled Social Security and disability cases. His Facebook page said he is a 1992 graduate of the University of South Carolina and a 1995 graduate of the USC School of Law.

Mayes, 54, was arrested on seven charges relating to the sexual exploitation of minors, said State Attorney General Alan Wilson in a press release.

Mayes does not yet have an attorney and has been released on his personal recognizance, according to Aiken County court records.

In his press release, Wilson said investigators received a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which led them to Mayes. Investigators alleged that Mayes recorded a person without their consent and possessed files of child sexual abuse material.

Specific charges against Mayes are five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, third degree, a felony offense punishable by up to ten years imprisonment on each count; and two counts of voyeurism, a misdemeanor offense punishable by up to three years imprisonment for a first offense on each count, Wilson said.

Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigators with the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office made the arrest. Investigators with the Attorney General’s Office, S.C. Probation, Parole, and Pardon, and Homeland Security Investigations, all also members of the state’s child internet crimes task force assisted with the investigation.

The case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s office.