A woman from Gaston, South Carolina, has been arrested on charges related to the sexual exploitation of minors. The arrest of Brittany Nicole Marie Tomberlin, 30, was announced by South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson. The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force led the investigation and made the arrest. Investigators from the Attorney General’s Office, also part of the state’s ICAC Task Force, provided assistance.
Authorities began their investigation after receiving a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). According to investigators, Tomberlin is accused of distributing files containing child sexual abuse material.
Tomberlin was taken into custody on September 23, 2025. She faces one count of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor under South Carolina law (§16-15-405), which is classified as a felony and carries a potential penalty of up to ten years in prison.
The Attorney General’s Office will handle prosecution in this 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 (CSAM) is now used as a more accurate term for these offenses because “pornography” can wrongly suggest consent by minors. Internationally, “child pornography” is being replaced with CSAM for this reason.
