#Socialites, get a load of this! Magistrate James Gosnell Jr. — the Charleston County, South Carolina judge who called Black church shooter Dylann Roof’s family “victims” and who was once reprimanded for using the N-word in court — was arrested on child sex abuse material charges and has been denied bond.
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Charleston Judge Calls Dylann Roof’s Family ‘Victims’
More than 10 years ago, on the evening of June 17, 2015, Dylann Roof entered Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston. For nearly an hour, he sat among a dozen people at a Bible study before opening fire during the worshippers’ final prayer. At 21, he shot and killed 9 members and attempted to kill three others in the basement of the historic church.
In December 2016, he was found guilty on all 33 counts of federal hate crimes. In January 2017, he was sentenced to death and in August 2021, the sentence was upheld after his appeal. By April 2025, he attorneys again filed a motion to vacate his death penalty sentence.
Before his conviction and sentencing, Magistrate James Gosnell Jr. briefly oversaw his case in the beginning. In June 2015, at Roof’s bond hearing, Gosnell told the court to remember “we have victims on this young man’s side of the family and the world they are thrown into.” He proceeded to ask them to remember to “help those that are victims but to also help [Roof’s] family as well.” The ask drew fire on social media. Users said he expressed and asked for sympathy for the hate crime suspect’s family.
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Charleston Judge, Who Called Dylann Roof’s Family ‘Victims,’ Was Once Reprimanded For Using N-Word In Court
Before this, in November 2003, the judge was reprimanded for using the N-word in court. This, according to a judicial disciplinary order posted on the South Carolina Supreme Court’s website. At the time, Gosnell was talking to a Black defendant, whom he knew. He claimed he repeated to the defendant a phrase that he heard a Black Sheriff’s Deputy say.
The jduge said, “There are four kinds of people in this world — Black people, White people, red necks, and n***ers.” He told the office of disciplinary counsel at the state Supreme Court that he made the “ill-considered” remark to try to get the young man to change his life during his bail reduction hearing.
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Charleston Judge, Who Called Dylann Roof’s Family ‘Victims’ And Was Once Reprimanded For Using N-Word In Court, Denied Bond After Child Sex Abuse Material Arrest
Since then, the judge has been arrested and charged for allegedly possessing child sexual abuse material. On September 16, the judge was arrested and appeared in federal bond court the following day. However, the bond decision was deferred to a detention hearing scheduled for September 22.
Gosnell then waived his detention hearing, deferring to a preliminary hearing scheduled for September 24 — which he also waived. The judge has since been denied bond. He remains in custody at the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center under US Marshall purview until next steps are determined.
In this case, federal prosecutors claimed they had forensic evidence against Gosnell. He allegedly confessed to federal agents about possessing child sexual abuse material. He also allegedly admitted that he communicated with “like-minded” individuals using the messaging app Telegram. In these conversations, Gosnell allegedly revealed he raped and abused children numerous times.
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