Warren Miller - Repeat Sex Offender - Had 40,000 Child Pornography images

Miller, who is a registered sex offender in Lexington County, was convicted in Florida in 2002 for violating federal child pornography laws.

Warrants state that between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2007, Miller viewed, downloaded, duplicated, produced, received and distributed images that depicted children engaged in sexual activities. SLED agents examined the hard drive of Miller's computer, where they found 40,000 images of child pornography.

Lexington County deputies have arrested a convicted sex offender who they say illegally stored more than 40,000 images on his computer of children who were engaged in sexual activities.

Sheriff James Metts says that Warren Miller, 35, of Lexington, was arrested Friday afternoon at his job on warrants for second and third-degree sexual exploitations of a minor.

Bond has been set at $500,000. If he pays the bond, he'll have restrictions on computer usage, and he'll be asked to wear a monitoring bracelet on his ankle.

Warrants state that between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2007, Miller viewed, downloaded, duplicated, produced, received and distributed images that depicted children engaged in sexual activities. SLED agents examined the hard drive of Miller's computer, where they found 40,000 images of child pornography.

Detectives still are investigating how Miller obtained the child pornography images as well as if he distributed them to other people.

For the last year Miller's neighbor Becky Bairefoot, and her boyfriend Darrell Branham, worried a little more when her grandkids came to visit. "It kind of scared me because I have a sister and brother and we live in the same neighborhood and we have grandchildren and children," Bairefoot says, of living just a few houses down from Miller.

"All the people around here and all the kids - they don't know what to expect from one day to the next," says Branham of the neighborhood.

An acquaintance of Miller contacted the Sheriff’s Department in early January and reported seeing child pornography images on Miller’s home computer. Detectives immediately initiated an investigation, which later resulted in Miller’s arrest.

Under South Carolina law, second and third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor are felonies that each carry a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison.

Miller, who is a registered sex offender in Lexington County, was convicted in Florida in 2002 for violating federal child pornography laws. He is currently being held in the Lexington County Jail, awaiting a bond hearing.

The sheriff asks that anyone with information concerning whether Miller might have interacted inappropriately with children to call CrimeStoppers at 1-888-559-TIPS.