Johns Island man charged with sexual exploitation of a minor

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - Charleston County deputies have arrested a man they say had child pornographic material in a cellphone cloud account.

Thomas Gotshall, 68, of Johns Island, is charged with second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, sheriff’s spokesman Andrew Knapp said.

Investigators say they began their investigation after receiving a cyber tip through the South Carolina Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Court documents state a user of a Verizon cloud account distributed a video on Jan. 16 that depicted a young boy between 3 and 6 years old exposing himself to the camera. The video also showed a female performing a sex act on the child and, later in the same video, another female child approximately 10 to 13 years old is shown with the boy putting his hand in her pants, the affidavit states.

Investigators say they obtained a search warrant on the phone number listed on the cyber tip, which they traced to Gotshall.

He was booked into the Al Cannon Detention Center. A judge set bail at $40,000 and he has since been released from jail.

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