A Laurens County resident, Thomas Nicholas Rytter, 27, of Waterloo, South Carolina, has been arrested on charges related to the sexual exploitation of a minor. The arrest was announced by South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson. The investigation was conducted by the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force from the Attorney General’s Office, with assistance from the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations. All agencies involved are members of South Carolina’s ICAC Task Force.
The investigation began after authorities received a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). According to investigators, Rytter distributed and possessed files containing child sexual abuse material.
Rytter was taken into custody on September 19, 2025. He faces one count of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and three counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. Each charge is classified as a felony and carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
The case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office.
Attorney General Wilson stated: “All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.”
The term “child sexual abuse material” (CSAM) is now being used instead of “child pornography” because it more accurately describes the nature of these crimes. The older term can imply consent by minors; globally, CSAM is being adopted to reflect that children cannot consent to such acts.
