A map of users investigators believe exchanged child sexual abuse videos with user joebidennnn69, an account that former South Carolina Rep. RJ May admitted was his. He was sentenced Jan. 14, 2026, to 17 1/2 years in prison. (Courtesy of the U.S. Attorney's Office in South Carolina)
COLUMBIA — An Oklahoma nurse pleaded guilty to exchanging videos of children being sexually abused with former South Carolina Rep. RJ May, Oklahoma’s top federal prosecutor said Wednesday.
May, a founding member of the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus, also pleaded guilty in November to sending and receiving videos of child sexual abuse.
He will spend 17 years and six months in prison, a judge decided last month.
Christian Ismael Soto Retamosa, a 35-year-old registered nurse in Oklahoma City, was among the 46 people May exchanged videos with over the course of five days in April, according to the Oklahoma U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Federal prosecutors will drop two of the three charges Retamosa faced. The 35-year-old could spend up to 20 years in federal prison and have to pay up to $250,000. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
May, a 39-year-old father of two young children, is appealing his sentencing, claiming ineffective assistance of counsel from his taxpayer-funded defense attorneys, according to court filings.
That was one of few reasons for appeal May did not waive in signing his plea deal.
The West Columbia Republican represented himself for most of his case, but a judge agreed he could use the attorneys initially assigned to him during his sentencing. Details on why May is appealing are not yet available in court filings.
Courtesy of South Carolina Daily Gazette
