Feds Charge Florida Man In Connection With S.C. Judge’s Arrest On Child Porn Charges

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by ANDY FANCHER

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Federal authorities have arrested a Florida realtor who stands accused of conspiring with a former South Carolina magistrate to possess and distribute child sexual abuse material (CSAM), according to booking records and newly unsealed federal filings.

John Badger Thorpe, 56, was taken into custody on Sunday (November 9, 2025) after prosecutors unsealed an indictment alleging that he and former Charleston County magistrate James B. “Skipper” Gosnell Jr. exchanged child pornography through encrypted messages, via mail and in person.

According to the same language used to indict Gosnell last month, Thorpe and Gosnell began communicating on Telegram in or around December 2023, both to discuss their sexual interest in minors and to exchange files that prosecutors say depicted the rape of infants and toddlers.

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The nauseating indictment — from which Thorpe’s name had previously been redacted — alleged he and the 68-year-old former magistrate exchanged “sexually explicit images of a prepubescent minor” on at least two occasions via Telegram.

The same filing stated the pair later turned to trading CSAM on a USB drive, with Gosnell traveling to Florida to deliver the material in person. Prosecutors allege the two men “viewed the child pornography together,” after which Thorpe mailed the device back to Gosnell via FedEx.

As FITSNews previously reported, prosecutors also alleged the men discussed their plans to “rape and torture a prepubescent minor” — a child believed to be the infant son of Thorpe’s nephew — during an encounter tentatively scheduled for sometime this month.

This purported plan might have gone forward had Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) not been alerted to Gosnell allegedly using a PayPal account — registered under his real name, personal email address and home address — to purchase multiple CSAM files in November 2024.

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It would take another nine months after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received the CyberTip from PayPal before federal agents descended upon Gosnell’s Charleston County home to execute a search warrant, according to federal court filings.

Those same filings stated that after being advised of his Miranda rights and told why agents were there, Gosnell directed investigators to a flash drive connected to a laptop, which he said contained “hundreds” of CSAM videos featuring “everything,” including “little babies.”

His claim proved true once agents examined the contents of the flash drive, according to investigators.

In addition to that drive, agents seized at least a dozen more flash drives, seven SD cards, four computers, two iPads, “miscellaneous discs and VHS tapes,” and an iPhone that appears to have led investigators down a broader trail of depravity… one that ultimately included Thorpe.

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? #Breaking: another arrest in the federal investigation of disgraced South Carolina judge James Gosnell Jr. https://t.co/5MowRMIWHN

— FITSNews (@fitsnews) November 12, 2025

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It would take nearly two months after Gosnell’s arrest for Thorpe to join him in custody, albeit at a detention facility in Pompano Beach, Florida.

According to booking records and the latest federal filings, Thorpe is being held by U.S. Marshals as he awaits extradition to South Carolina, where he and Gosnell will be prosecuted in federal court in Charleston.

Gosnell resigned from the bench the day after his September 2025 arrest, citing “much thought, prayer and consideration,” according to a letter obtained by FITSNews. The following month, he pleaded not guilty to the allegations detailed in his federal indictment.

Thorpe, on the other hand, remains listed as an agent with a brokerage representing a global portfolio of luxury properties. Nationally, he’s recognized as a founding member of the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for equal access to homeownership.

Together, both men face nine federal charges related to the possession and distribution of child pornography.

This story may be updated.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Andrew Fancher is a Lone Star Emmy award-winning journalist from Dallas, Texas. Cut from a bloodline of outlaws and lawmen alike, he was the first of his family to graduate college which was accomplished with honors. Got a story idea or news tip for Andy? Email him directly and connect with him socially across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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