South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Ganson Eugene Gainer, 50, of Hartsville, S.C., on one charge connected to the sexual exploitation of a minor. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Attorney General's Office made the arrest. Investigators with the Hartsville Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Secret Service, all members of the state's ICAC Task Force, assisted with this investigation.
Investigators state Gainer distributed files of child sexual abuse material.
Gainer was arrested on August 21, 2024. He is charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, second degree (§16-15-405), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment.
The case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General's Office.
Attorney General Wilson stressed all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.
"Child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, is a more accurate reflection of the material involved in these heinous and abusive crimes. 'Pornography' can imply the child was a consenting participant. Globally, the term child pornography is being replaced by CSAM for this reason."