Upstate men sentenced for sexual crimes involving children

COLUMBIA, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that two Greenville County men were recently sentenced for unrelated cases involving the sexual exploitation of minors.

Officials said one of the men, Norman Winkles, pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, third-degree on March 1. According to officials, on September 11, 2018, deputies received cybertips regarding someone uploading child sexual abuse material to an online account linked to Winkles. Deputies said they executed a search warrant at Winkles’ home in April 2019 and took computer-related items that led them to over 2,000 images and videos of child sexual abuse material in his online storage accounts. They added that Winkles also confessed that he viewed and saved abusive material.

Winkles was sentenced to five years at the South Carolina Department of Corrections. He will also need to register as a sex offender.

Also on March 1, Harold Elton Tindall, Jr. pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, second degree, and one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, third degree.

Officials said in 2015, a special investigator with the Attorney General’s Office was sent child sexual abuse material from a user on a file-sharing network. According to officials, they obtained the user’s subscriber information, which led them to Tindall’s residence in Greenville County. Investigators searched Tindall’s house and found additional child sexual abuse material on a computer and several CDs.

Tindall was sentenced to five years in prison on both charges and must register as a tier II sex offender upon his release.