Investigation that sent repeat child sex offender in Rock Hill to prison unveils other sex crimes

ROCK HILL, S.C. — Federal investigators said a Rock Hill man went to great lengths trying to abuse a child. Now, he will spend the next 11 years in federal prison.

The investigation that sent him to prison also unveiled several sex crimes against foster children across state lines.

Authorities said that suspect Xanthus Murdaugh, 46, admitted that he sexually abused numerous young people, including children in the foster system.

“Our biggest goal is to find people who are truly looking for children -- true predators,” said Sgt. Alex Clark with the York County Sheriff’s Office Sex Crimes Division.

Clark helped set up an online web to catch those predators. In 2019, he said Murdaugh stepped right into it.

“We started chatting with him through some social media websites, and he wanted to come meet with a 13-year-old and have sex with this person,” Clark said.

Federal prosecutors noticed Murdaugh was already on North Carolina’s sex offender registry due to crimes in another state. They started investigating and found Murdaugh is a repeat offender.

“Having a prior federal child pornography conviction and a prior state conviction for solicitation of a crime against nature,” Clark said. “[He] admitted to the sexual abuse of numerous minors, including children in the foster system, for which he had never been held accountable.”

Investigators in York County said they notified North Carolina’s State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) about unreported crimes Murdaugh confessed to committing in that state.

“They were trying to establish what jurisdiction it actually occurred in, and to see if they could identify those victims,” Clark said.

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services statement:

“No one by the name of Xanthus Murdaugh has been licensed as a foster parent in North Carolina. Information regarding reports of abuse, neglect, or dependency are confidential.”

North Carolina’s SBI said it has no record of being asked to assist with any specific follow-up regarding Murdaugh.

The United States Department of Justice said it could not talk about any particular agency that it is investigating.

Generally speaking, it says if a child is harmed, that information would be reported to the appropriate state agency.

Statement from North Carolina SBI spokesperson:

“According to the agent who worked with SC on the operation, if specifics or leads came from interviews conducted with individuals involved in the operation, those leads were forwarded to a local ICAC Affiliate and Homeland Security Investigations so the matters could be addressed. While the NCSBI assisted HSI on other individuals involved in the operation and assisted York with searches regarding other suspects post operation, there is no record of the NCSBI being asked to assist with any specific follow-up regarding Mr. Murdaugh.”

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