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Columbia man charged after trying to send nude pictures to a teenager, deputies say.

Investigators say a Columbia man thought he was sending nude photos to a teenaged girl. Instead, an officer was on the receiving end.
Credit: Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office
David Lambert, 57

ORANGEBURG COUNTY, S.C. — A Columbia man has been charged with sending obscene material to a juvenile over social media.

According to the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office (OCSO), David Lambert, 57, thought he was sending nude photos of himself to a teenage girl, but it was an undercover officer on the receiving end. 

Lambert now faces charges of criminal solicitation of a minor and unlawful dissemination of obscene material to a person under the age of 18, according to a Facebook post from the department. 

"This individual believed he was communicating with a 14-year-old female," Sheriff Leroy Ravenell said in the post, "This individual was actually communicating with one of my deputies."

The discovery comes after investigators with the OCSO assisted in an undercover chat operation with the Richland County Sheriff’s Office from August to November last year.

OCSO investigators continued the operation in Orangeburg County after Richland County concluded theirs.

Lambert is accused of sending obscene messages of having sex with the underage teen persona as well as nude photos of himself on a social media instant messenger site.

Investigators were able to identify Lambert as the sender of the explicit material, in part, through the photos he sent.

Bond was set on Friday at $15,000 cash or surety.

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