Man accidentally sent video of sex abuse to girl’s mom in SC. Now he’s going to prison
A South Carolina man has been sentenced to decades in prison for child sex abuse after he pleaded guilty in a Charleston County court this week, court records show.
Robert Joseph Berardi pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and agreed with prosecutors to a 20-year prison sentence, according to the state Attorney General’s Office.
Prosecutors say Berardi accidentally sent a video to a woman that showed him sexually abusing her 10-year-old daughter.
After the mother went to police, the girl told investigators that the abuse lasted for months and that Berardi took video of the abuse on his cell phone.
Berardi was charged Dec. 15, 2016 and arrested 12 days later, prosecutors said.
“When he was first interviewed by a Charleston County Sheriff’s Office detective, Berardi denied ever seeing the video, but after further discussion he confessed to sending the video to the girl’s mother,” the Attorney General’s office said.
“This is a horrendous case of abuse so we’re glad that this predator will be locked up for two decades,” Attorney General Alan Wilson said in a press release. “He stole this young girl’s innocence and she and her family will be dealing with the effects of this for years.”
