CHARLESTON (SC)
Charleston WCSC-TV [Charleston, SC]
July 3, 2026
By Nick Reagan, Emily Johnson, Marissa Thompson
A former Charleston judge caught with thousands of images of child sexual abuse material has now pleaded guilty to his charges.
James Gosnell Jr. pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor and one count of distribution of child pornography. He was previously facing a total of six charges; through the plea deal, which was accepted by a federal judge Thursday morning, his other four charges were dropped.
“I just want the court to know, I never touched a child or had the intentions of touching a child,” Gosnell said in court.
Child pornography is the federal charge for child sexual abuse material—or CSAM—which is more commonly used now.
He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars and up to $250,000 in fines on the possession charge.
For the distribution charge, there’s a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years, with a maximum of 20 years of imprisonment. That comes with another fine of up to $250,000.
U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling said the government plans to recommend a sentence of 40 years.
“He is currently 69 years old, so before he could get out, he’d be well over 100 if he ever was to get out; a life sentence for a man of his age,” Stirling said. “He admitted to heinous crimes, and he waived his right to appeal for his conviction or sentence, including a suppression motion.”
“Now he’s ready to move forward, and hopefully he’ll get to some point in time to get out of prison and won’t die there,” Gosnell’s attorney, Lionel Lofton, said. “That’s my only concern, is that he gets a sentence that will kill him and he’ll die in prison.”
Both sentences also carry five years of supervised release, and Gosnell would be required to register as a sex offender.
Prosecutors say Gosnell also waived his right to appeal. They called his actions “just pure evil” and “disturbing.”
“Evil walks among us,” U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling said of Gosnell. “These deviant, disgusting, and deeply disturbing actions truly shock our community. The depths of the darkness revealed in Gosnell’s electronics and messages to his co-conspirator serves as a reminder that evil walks among us often, hiding in plain sight.”
Gosnell was arrested Sept. 16, 2025, after federal authorities received a cyber tip that linked illegal activity to online accounts associated with the former judge.
READ MORE: Charleston judge arrested on CSAM charges
“I think he’s relieved; I think he’s relieved that this stage is behind him,” Lofton said. “Hopefully, we can convince the court that he’s not an evil person, he did stupid things and he violated the law.”
The plea agreement comes two months after John Badger Thorpe, 69, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to receive and distribute CSAM and two counts of distribution of CSAM.
“And it wasn’t just what he did, but it’s what he talked about; it’s who he was,” Stirling said. “A Charleston County Magistrate for more than 25 years, a public official charged with upholding and applying the law. He took an oath to uphold and apply the law as he was breaking it.”
Thorpe was arrested at the same time as Gosnell and identified as one of the men Gosnell communicated with online to discuss a shared sexual interest in minors.
The U.S. Attorney described in the courtroom on Thursday that Gosnell and his co-conspirator were not only interested in viewing child pornography, but the two shared a passion for necrophilia with dead babies.
A trial in Gosnell’s case had been set for Aug. 24. His plea agreement was filed Monday.
Gosnell’s sentencing will be held at a later date.
Watch the press conference held after Gosnell’s guilty plea below.
Further coverage:
For more details on the case, listen to the Live 5 Deep Dive podcast episode 2 – Judge James Gosnell Jr.
To listen to Gosnell’s jail house calls, check out Live 5 Deep Dive Episode 19.