A veteran Aiken attorney has had his license to practice law suspended by the S.C. Supreme Court following his arrest on multiple charges related to the possession of sexual images of children.
The Supreme Court also ordered that attorney W. Daniel “Danny” Mayes’ assets and files be seized, including his clients’ trust accounts, and placed under the protection of a court receiver. Such a step is standard in cases of suspension.
Biographical information about Mayes has been removed from the web page of the Aiken County law firm where he worked. His name is no longer visible on the SC Bar public index.
According to an Internet lawyer guide, Mayes had specialized in workers’ compensation law for 28 years and also handled social security and disability cases. His Facebook page stated that he was 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 related to the sexual exploitation of minors, state Attorney General Alan Wilson said in a news release.
Mayes does not yet have an attorney and has been released on personal recognizance, according to Aiken County court records.
In his press release, Wilson said that investigators have a Cyber Tip Line report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which led them to Mayes. Investigators alleged Mayes recorded an individual without their consent and was in possession of files containing child sexual abuse material.
Specific charges against Mayes include five counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison on each charge; and two counts of voyeurism, a misdemeanor punishable by up to three years in prison for a first offense on each count, Wilson said.
Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigators from the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office made the arrest. Investigators from the Attorney General’s Office, SC Probation, Parole, and Pardon and Homeland Security Investigations, all also members of the state’s Child Crimes Task Force, assisted in the investigation.
The case will be prosecuted by the Public Prosecution Service.