https://abcnews4.com/news/local/sc-supreme-court-suspends-charleston-county-magistrate-judge-wciv-abc-news-4-2025-investigation-james-b-gosnell
CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) Federal agents arrested a Charleston County magistrate on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of child sexual abuse material, authorities with the Department of Justice said.
James Benjamin Gosnell Jr., 68, was taken into custody Tuesday and is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Molly Cherry, according to federal prosecutors.
The complaint alleges that agents with Homeland Security Investigations received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about multiple financial transactions tied to a known distributor of child sexual abuse material in the United Kingdom.
The payments were sent from a peer-to-peer online money transfer account linked to Gosnells phone number, address and email account, investigators said. The transactions took place in November 2024.
Agents later obtained a search warrant for Gosnells home and electronic devices. During the search, they found a flash drive containing numerous videos and images of child sexual abuse, including depictions of prepubescent minors, infants and toddlers engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to the complaint.