A registered sex offender twice convicted of sexual offenses involving children in South Carolina appeared in federal court Aug. 16 to face new criminal sexual conduct charges involving a minor.
Chad Michael Rabon, 33, was indicted earlier this month by a federal grand jury on six felony counts including attempted coercion and commission of a felony sex offense of a minor by a registered sex offender.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges Aug. 16 in the Charleston federal courthouse.
Rabon was convicted in Lexington County in 2010 of criminal solicitation of a minor in Lexington County. He was sentenced to four years probation under the Youthful Offender Act, according to court records. Four years later, he was charged with criminal sexual conduct with a minor in Kershaw County. He was sentenced to nine years in prison and given credit for 333 days.
The latest, federal indictment alleges that the North Charleston man attempted to coerce a 13-year-old into sexual acts between May and June 2022. The alleged crime took place at a facility used for interstate commerce.
Rabon can request a detention hearing in front of Magistrate Judge Mary Gordon Baker. He has been held in the Charleston jail under a $220,000 bond on state charges related to the same alleged conduct since July 26, 2022.
Rabon is accused of sending sexually explicit photos and videos to someone he believed was a 13-year-old on KIK, an instant messaging platform, according to affidavits filed in Charleston County’s General Sessions Court.
The defendant allegedly acknowledged in the messages that he had a criminal history of criminal sexual conduct with minors but maintained that he preferred younger women, according to the affidavits.
The state charges against Rabon were brought by the Mount Pleasant Police Department, which participates in the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. In that capacity, officers often pose as young girls on social media platforms and communicate with men who may be interested in soliciting minors for sex. The operations, authorities contends, can ferret out predators before they have a chance to abuse a child.
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