SC Woman Pleads Guilty to Filming Child Abuse

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Florence, South Carolina. Alaina Ny’sha Thomas, 24, admitted in federal court today to filming the sexual abuse of a minor, then uploading the depraved content to a dark web forum. The FBI uncovered the videos in June, linking Thomas to the abuse that began around January 2020. The motive behind the recordings and their distribution remains shrouded in silence.

Investigators traced the footage back to Thomas engaging in sexual acts with the victim. She then allegedly sent the videos to an unidentified contact online, furthering the spread of the horrific material. Details of the victim’s identity have not been released.

Thomas is staring down a potential 30-year prison sentence, a $250,000 fine, and a lifetime of supervised release after accepting a guilty plea before Judge Joseph Dawson, III. A pre-sentence report is now underway, meaning the final judgment is still weeks away.

The case falls under the umbrella of the Justice Department’s “Project Safe Childhood,” a program dedicated to combating online child sexual exploitation. The FBI Columbia Field Office and the Florence County Sheriff’s Office spearheaded the investigation, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Hummel leading the prosecution.