South Carolina Judge Accused Of Possessing Child Porn Appears In Court

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by DYLAN NOLAN

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Former Charleston County magistrate judge James B. “Skip” Gosnell appeared before a federal judge on Wednesday morning (September 17, 2025) after having been charged yesterday with possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).

Federal authorities alleged Gosnell was implicated in a National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) cyber tip. Unsealed charging documents (.pdf) further alleged that Gosnell admitted to possessing CSAM – and that federal agents were able to immediately identify multiple graphic images of prepubescent children being sexually abused on a drive connected to Gosnell’s computer.

“After advising Gosnell of his Miranda rights in writing and verbally, Gosnell advised that CSAM could be found on a thumb drive connected to a laptop in his front bedroom,” the federal report continued. “Gosnell believed he received the thumb drive from ‘a guy in Charleston’ he met online approximately six or seven years ago. According to Gosnell, the thumb drive contained ‘100s’ of ‘videos’ of ‘child porn,’” the complaint alleges.

The shocking discovery was made as federal agents were executing a search warrant on his Charleston residence early Tuesday morning.

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RELATED | CHARLESTON JUDGE CHARGED WITH POSSESSING CHILD PORN

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Gosnell was suspended from the bench by S.C. chief justice John Kittredge shortly after FITSNews exclusively reported his arrest by federal Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents.

Assistant U.S. attorney Katie Orville argued Gosnell is a danger to the community and should be kept behind bars while the charges against him pending.

Gosnell was represented by former federal prosecutor Lionel Loften during his appearance before federal magistrate Molly H. Cherry – who denied him a bond despite Loften articulating concern that his client would be in danger once his fellow detainees identified as a former judge and alleged pedophile. Cherry expressed confidence county and federal authorities would take the necessary actions to keep Gosnell safe as he awaits trial.

Gosnell is scheduled to appear again in federal court on Monday (September 22, 2025) at 1:30 p.m. EDT for a preliminary hearing to determine whether probable cause exists to keep him in custody.

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Gosnell’s arrest is the second high-profile federal CSAM bust in South Carolina this year.

In June, former state representative Robert John “RJ” May III was arrested and charged with ten federal counts of distributing child sexual abuse material. The materials allegedly distributed by May were similarly horrific in nature – and a federal magistrate ordered him held without bond pending trial.

May is currently representing himself as he awaits trail, with jury selection scheduled for early next month.

Stay tuned to FITSNews for the very latest on both of these cases as they advance through the federal system.

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THE COMPLAINT…

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

(Via: Travis Bell)

Dylan Nolan is the director of special projects at FITSNews. He graduated from the Darla Moore school of business in 2021 with an accounting degree. Got a tip or story idea for Dylan? Email him here. You can also engage him socially @DNolan2000.

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