Clemson lecturer charged with sharing child sex abuse material

ANDERSON, S.C. (WSPA) – The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office has arrested and charged a Clemson University lecturer with distributing child sexual abuse material in Anderson.

46-year-old Jeffrey Douglas Townsend was arrested and charged with 10 counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.

Officers said that their investigation revealed that Townsend was using a chatroom to access thousands of contacts connected to inappropriate material revolving around children.

The sheriff’s office reported that detectives connected Townsend to more than 20 uploads of child pornography that began in November 2024.

Townsend was a professor at Clemson University and taught classes that focused on Sports and Sport Management. The University released a statement saying it had cooperated with law enforcement during the investigation, and that the employee had been suspended without pay.