South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has announced the arrest of Joshua James Nolen, a 22-year-old resident of Lancaster, South Carolina. The arrest involves two charges related to the sexual exploitation of minors. The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office, part of the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, carried out the arrest with assistance from investigators in the Attorney General’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations.
The investigation began after receiving a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which pointed to Nolen as a suspect. According to investigators, Nolen is accused of distributing files containing child sexual abuse material.
Nolen was taken into custody on March 14, 2025. He faces two counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor under statute §16-15-405. Each count is classified as a felony and carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
The Attorney General’s Office will handle the prosecution. Attorney General Wilson emphasized that “all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.”
The term “child sexual abuse material” or CSAM is used to accurately describe such materials involved in these crimes. The global community is moving away from using “child pornography,” which can imply consent by minors.
