OCT 11, 2022

Pickens Man Arrested on Child Sexual Abuse Material* Charges

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced the arrest of Gabriel Charles Hostetler, 39, of Pickens, S.C., on 10 charges connected to the sexual exploitation of minors. Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Pickens County Sheriff's Office made the arrest. Investigators with the Anderson County Sheriff's Office, also a member of the state's ICAC Task Force, assisted with the investigation.

 

Investigators state Hostetler possessed files of child sexual abuse material.

 

Hostetler was arrested on October 6, 2022. He is charged with 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor third degree (§16-15-410), a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count.

 

Hostetler was out on bond from a prior arrest on related charges in 2021.

 

This case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General's Office.

 

Attorney General Wilson stressed all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.

 

 

 

 

* 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.

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For media inquiries please contact Robert Kittle, rkittle@scag.gov or 803-734-3670

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