Prosecutors said the Greer man hid a “spy camera” in the bathroom of a Hilton Head short-term rental he shared with two other families in June 2020, accessing the recordings to save over 500 photos of four underage girls while they changed clothes and used the bathroom. — Image by mrsiraphol on Freepik
In the wake of his conviction, a South Carolina man is being sued for the same crime that put him behind bars: a voyeuristic scheme in a Hilton Head rental home.
Seth Taylor Bruce, 47, pleaded guilty in late January to three felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, earning a 10-year prison sentence.
Prosecutors said the Greer man hid a “spy camera” in the bathroom of a Hilton Head short-term rental he shared with two other families in June 2020, accessing the recordings to save over 500 photos of four underage girls while they changed clothes and used the bathroom.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in Beaufort County civil court, demands damages for the "embarrassment" and "humiliation" suffered by one of the young girls and her mother. Court documents also implicate Bruce's employer, unknown by lawyers at the time of filing, for knowingly allowing the man to store and share the child pornography on his company accounts.
Bruce was a “family friend” of the young girl, according to the court summons. Police say he planted the hidden camera right as the families arrived at the Hilton Head vacation home in early June 2020, knowing that only minors would be using that bathroom.
The man then accessed the video feed from an app on his phone, sending screenshots to his work email. By the end of the six-day trip, court documents state, the camera's SD card was "filled" with video of the young girls.
Greenville County deputies arrested Bruce on June 15, 2021 following a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The Greenville investigation prompted additional charges out of Beaufort County, bringing his total to 35 counts of voyeurism and sexual exploitation, according to judicial records from both counties. His trial was prosecuted by the Attorney General's Office.
Bruce is still in custody at the South Carolina Department of Corrections with a projected release date of December 2029, followed by five years of probation, records show. He is not eligible for parole.
The attorney representing the lawsuit's plaintiffs did not immediately respond to multiple requests for comment. – The Island Packet (Hilton Head, S.C.)/Tribune News Service
