An 18-year-old resident of Irmo, South Carolina, Samuel Gage Troutman, has been arrested on two felony charges related to the sexual exploitation of a minor. The arrest was announced by South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson. Investigators from the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force with the Attorney General’s Office carried out the arrest, with assistance from the Irmo Police Department, which is also part of the state’s ICAC Task Force.
The investigation began after a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children led authorities to Troutman. According to investigators, Troutman is accused of distributing and possessing files containing child sexual abuse material.
Troutman was taken into custody on January 22, 2026. He faces one count of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor under South Carolina law (§16-15-405), which carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison. He also faces one count of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor (§16-15-410), also punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment.
The Attorney General’s Office will prosecute the case.
Attorney General Wilson stated: “All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.”
The press release notes that “child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, is a more accurate reflection of the material involved in these heinous and abusive crimes. ‘Pornography’ can imply the child was a consenting participant. Globally, the term child pornography is being replaced by CSAM for this reason.”
