FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. \u2014 A Broward County man appeared in Fort Lauderdale federal court on Monday after being accused of conspiring with a South Carolina judge to view and share child sexual abuse videos.<\/p>\n
Leer en espa\u00f1ol<\/a><\/p>\n The arrest of John Badger Thorpe came a little less than two months after the arrest<\/a> of his alleged accomplice, Charleston County Magistrate James Benjamin Gosnell Jr., by federal agents in the Palmetto State. <\/p>\n A federal criminal complaint states that Thorpe, 56, of Wilton Manors, began communicating with Gosnell, 68, of Charleston, South Carolina, on the messaging app Telegram in December 2023 and shared illicit material.<\/p>\n A grand jury indictment from Charleston federal court states that Gosnell came to South Florida to meet with Thorpe and brought child sexual abuse material on a USB drive. Authorities said the two viewed the disturbing content, which included \u201cdepictions of infants and toddlers being raped and tortured,\u201d together. <\/p>\n Prosecutors said Gosnell left the USB drive in South Florida and Thorpe eventually shipped it back to South Carolina through FedEx. The two \u201calso discussed future plans to meet with other pedophiles to rape and torture a prepubescent minor,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n