Alaina Ny’sha Thomas, a 24-year-old resident of Florence, pleaded guilty on March 20 to producing child sexual abuse material. United States District Judge Joseph Dawson, III accepted the plea and will determine sentencing after reviewing a report from the U.S. Probation Office.
The case centers on evidence found by FBI agents in June 2024, when they discovered videos on a private dark web forum showing an adult woman engaged in sexual acts with a minor. Investigators identified Thomas as the woman in the videos and determined she recorded them around January 2020 before sending them to an unknown individual online.
Thomas faces up to 30 years in federal prison, along with a possible $250,000 fine, restitution payments, and supervised release for up to life following her imprisonment. The investigation was conducted by the FBI Columbia Field Office and the Florence County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Hummel is prosecuting the case.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse. The project brings together federal, state, and local resources to locate offenders who exploit children online and rescue victims.
More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at Justice.gov/PSC.
