Human trafficking suspect in Jasper Co. escapes from prison; police searched Monday afternoon

For the latest updates on this storyClick here.

Authorities in Jasper County are searching for a Port Royal man who escaped from the county jail, the sheriff’s office said in an alert posted Monday afternoon.

The fugitive’s name was Jaquan Duvall Barnes, a 5-foot-7, 28-year-old black male with brown hair and brown eyes. He weighs 150 pounds and his home address is 1793 Old Shell Road in Port Royal, the agency’s flyer says.

Barnes was arrested for sex trafficking of a minor after Hardeeville police stopped his vehicle on March 5. Inside the car, officers found a minor girl who “knew the suspect” and she was reported missing in Beaufort County.

The incident was far from Barnes’ first sex crime charge: In 2015, he pleaded guilty in a Beaufort County court to two counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, a felony count of possessing child sexual abuse material or child pornography.

Arthur S. Benjamin, director of the Jasper County Detention Center, said the S.C. Law Enforcement Division is assisting with the search and investigation into how the escape occurred. He declined to answer additional questions, including whether Barnes is considered a danger to society.

The Jasper County Detention Center is located at 12008 North Jacob Smart Blvd in Ridgeland and is part of the same building as the county’s law enforcement center.

Anyone with information on Barnes’ whereabouts is asked to call 911 or the Jasper County dispatch line at 843-726-7519.