Hartsville Man Arrested for Distributing Child Abuse Material

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Ganson Eugene Gainer, 50, of Hartsville, S.C., on one count of sexual exploitation of a minor. Investigators with the Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force made the arrest. Investigators from the Hartsville Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Secret Service, all members of the state’s ICAC Task Force, assisted in the investigation.

Investigators allege that Gainer distributed files containing child sexual abuse material.

Gainer was arrested on August 21, 2024. He is charged with sexual exploitation of a minor, second degree (§16-15-405), a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The case will be prosecuted by the Public Prosecution Service.

Attorney General Wilson stressed that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

“Child pornography material, or CSAM, is a more accurate representation of the material involved in these heinous and abusive crimes. ‘Pornography’ can imply that the child was a consenting participant. Worldwide, the term child pornography is being replaced by CSAM for this reason.”