Midlands man used internet to sexually exploit children in Brazil, Feds say

It’s a rare case of international child sexual exploitation.

The young victims, girls ages 3 and 9, were 3,000 miles away in Brazil. The alleged abuser was in the Columbia, South Carolina, area.

Using the internet and a co-conspirator in Brazil, the suspect — Stephen Todd Greene, 55, of West Columbia — participated in the months-long sexual abuse of the two girls, according to a 13-count indictment made public in U.S. District Court in Columbia on Thursday, May 29.

“The evidence is strong in this case,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Elle Klein told U.S. Magistrate Judge Paige Gossett during a 20-minute arraignment hearing Thursday afternoon.

In response to a request by Klein, Gossett ordered Green held without bond for the time being. He was arrested Thursday morning by the FBI, whose agents have been investigating the case.

After Greene pleaded not guilty, Gossett ordered a public defender to represent Greene.

According to the indictment, Greene knew a woman in Brazil who was the girls’ aunt. The aunt, who was only identified as “Co-Conspirator 1,” sexually abused the two girls and recorded the abuse with a cellphone, iPad and cameras, according to the indictment.

From June 2023 through September 2024, Greene and the aunt used the cellphone, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram chat and FaceTime to communicate with each other. Greene installed a camera in his home “so that each location would be broadcasted to the other,” according to the indictment.

Using a wire transfer, Greene paid the aunt money for access to the girls, the indictment said. It did not disclose how much money was paid.

The aunt and Greene both livestreamed and recorded the children being abused in person by the aunt and virtually by Greene, the indictment said.

Greene then kept “that content for his sexual gratification,” the indictment said.

Greene also engaged in “sexually explicit conduct” that he broadcast to Brazil, where it was watched by the young girls and the aunt, the indictment said.

During the scheme, Greene traveled twice to Brazil, where he gained access to the girls and participated in the sexual abuse of at least one of them, the indictment said.

Greene is charged with conspiracy to produce child pornography, two counts of production of child pornography, four counts of distribution of child pornography, three counts of receipt of child pornography, possession of child pornography, and two counts of coercion and enticement of a minor into illegal sexual conduct.

The coercion or enticement of a minor charge alone carries a maximum of life in prison.

Elliott Daniels is the second federal prosecutor on the case.

What caused federal agents to investigate Greene has not been made public. The case was investigated by the FBI and the Brazilian Federal Police.

Federal officials did not discuss any charges against the aunt in Brazil.

Note to readers: federal laws still refer to “child pornography, but the term “child sexual abuse material” is preferred, as it better reflects the abuse that is depicted in the images and videos and the resulting trauma to the child, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

This story was originally published May 29, 2025 at 3:58 PM.