Feds Detail Shocking Alleged Child Sex Abuse By Suspended S.C. Judge

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by WILL FOLKS

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South Carolina’s top federal prosecutor outlined shocking and horrific allegations of the graphic sexual abuse of minor children – including infants – by a suspended Charleston County magistrate on Monday morning (September 22, 2025), dramatically escalating the scope of an ongoing investigation into his alleged conduct.

Last week, FITSNews exclusively reported on the arrest of Charleston County magistrate judge James B. “Skip” Gosnell by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents. Gosnell was subsequently accused of possessing child sex abuse material – also known as child pornography – and was promptly suspended from the bench by the S.C. supreme court.

According to the federal filing (.pdf) from U.S. attorney Bryan Stirling and assistant U.S. attorney Katherine Orville, Gosnell’s alleged conduct was far worse than the mere possession of such despicable material, however.

While Stirling and Orville noted that a forensic examination of Gosnell’s devices was “ongoing,” hundreds of files of child sex abuse material had already been uncovered on an external storage device Gosnell acknowledged was his (and acknowledged contained child porn).

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Far worse, though, were shockingly graphic and grotesque communications allegedly uncovered from Gosnell’s iPhone.

Please be advised… while we are generalizing specific descriptions contained in the federal filing, even these descriptions are exceedingly graphic and difficult to process.

“It appears from the unimaginably explicit conversations that Gosnell was romantically involved with the other individual, but that their romantic interests involved abusing children together,” Stirling and Orville wrote in the filing. “In one of these conversations, Gosnell and the other pedophile are planning a trip for Gosnell to visit him in Florida. The purpose of this visit is for the other pedophile and Gosnell to jointly rape and torture the other pedophile’s nephew’s infant son.”

Gosnell allegedly told one fellow accused pedophile that he was into the “rape” and “torture” of children – and that their screams led to his sexual arousal.

As if that weren’t sufficiently heinous, while using the messaging app Telegram the two alleged pedophiles were said to have discussed the abominable physical abuse of the infant with the stated goal of causing irreparable brain damage to the child.

Believe it or not, the filing gets even worse… with Telegram messages suggesting Gosnell did not confine the nauseatingly monstrous perversions of which he stands accused solely to the realm of fantasy.

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“Alarmingly, Gosnell’s conversations on Telegram also reveal numerous instances in which he raped and abused children,” Stirling and Orville noted, citing alleged female victims who were only three months old and five months old at the time Gosnell claimed to have sexually assaulted them.

One alleged victim was only two weeks old, according to the filing.

“Gosnell is a man who finds sexual gratification in the rape of a child, the rape of a toddler, the rape of an infant,” Stirling and Orville wrote. “Moreover, his communications with other pedophiles show that his sexual appetite for this reprehensible type of CSAM is insatiable.”

Gosnell also allegedly wrote on Telegram about a trip he purportedly took to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for the purpose of raping a two-year-old boy.

“Additional conversations suggest other international travel for the purpose of engaging in sex with children,” the federal filing noted. “Federal agents are aware that in late summer 2025, Gosnell traveled alone to Amsterdam.”

Prosecutors further claimed Gosnell has been leading online chats to “teach other pedophiles the tricks of the trade,” and suggested his knowledge of the criminal justice system could aid him in fleeing and evading accountability for his alleged crimes were he allowed out of prison.

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Our @TheWillFolks advising "audience discretion" as they read our coverage of the motion filed by federal prosecutors in the case of suspended South Carolina judge James B. Gosnell. This is truly one of the more disturbing motions we have ever covered… https://t.co/KzBg0Dh7LA pic.twitter.com/JO4CSbYBJV

— FITSNews (@fitsnews) September 22, 2025

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Also, it’s abundantly clear the investigation into Gosnell is just beginning. Federal agents have another four computers, thirteen flash drives, seven SD cards and two iPads to review – along with “miscellaneous discs and VHS tapes.”

Prosecutors are also seeking assistance from the public in their inquiries into Gosnell.

On Monday afternoon, Stirling’s office asked for “the public’s help in identifying possible victims” of Gosnell.

“If your child, or a child you know, was ever alone with, or held by James Gosnell, please notify (HSI’s Charlotte office),” his agency posted on X.

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?Federal Investigators Seek Public’s Help in Identifying Possible Victims of Charleston County Magistrate ?

If your child, or a child you know, was ever alone with, or held by James Gosnell, please notify @HSI_HQ / @HSI_Charlotte's tip line:

??…

— U.S. Attorney SC (@USAO_SC) September 22, 2025

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Not surprisingly, the federal position regarding Gosnell’s release pending the adjudication of the charges against him was clear.

“Gosnell must be detained pending trial,” the federal motion concluded. “No condition or combination of conditions will be sufficient to ensure Gosnell’s reappearance or to ensure the safety of the community.”

According to Stirling and Orville, “Gosnell is a predator with a preference for infants and toddlers,” one who “in his own words… has described his interest in the torture of these children during abuse.”

“The weight of the evidence against Gosnell is immense, overwhelming, and conclusive,” the added. “It is not mere suspicion that Gosnell possessed CSAM, it is an undisputed fact. Gosnell himself admitted to possessing CSAM and led federal agents to a USB drive containing what he himself described as hundreds of videos of ‘child porn.'”

Seeing the writing on the wall, Gosnell on Monday waived his right to a detention hearing with prejudice, meaning he will remain behind bars as his case is prosecuted.

Here is the federal filing, but be warned… it contains exceedingly graphic depictions of child sex abuse.

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THE FILING…

(U.S. Attorney’s Office)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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