South Carolina – Authorities in South Carolina have arrested a man from Columbia after looking into claims that he tried to take advantage of a minor online. The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office said that Christopher Thomas Rader, 45, was arrested on November 18, 2025, after an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force operation found a number of illegal activities with what Rader thought was a minor.
Investigators said that Rader started talking to someone he thought was young and tried to set up sexual activities. Officials say he allegedly pushed people to make child sexual abuse material and shared sexually explicit pictures during the conversation. The Attorney General’s Office ICAC Task Force ran the operation with help from the Columbia Police Department, which is also part of the statewide ICAC network.
The arrest came after weeks of investigation that included tracking digital communications and confirming the nature of the alleged interactions. Authorities claim the data proved that Rader tried to make illegal contact and get explicit content several times. The man was arrested without incident after investigators confirmed his activity and identity.
Rader is facing eight charges of criminal activity. These include two counts of criminal solicitation of a juvenile, which may lead to a sentence of up to ten years in jail. He is also charged with one count of trying to sexually exploit a juvenile in the first degree, which can get him up to twenty years in prison. Also, investigators charged the suspect with two counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and three counts of trying to send obscene material to someone under 18. Each of these charges could lead to up to ten years in prison.
The Attorney General’s Office will handle the case as part of its ongoing work to stop child exploitation online across the state. The ICAC Task Force works with local authorities a lot to find individuals who utilize internet platforms to target minors. They stress the need for quick action to stop further damage.
The case will move through the courts while prosecutors put together the evidence they found throughout the investigation.
The arrest shows that South Carolina’s ICAC Task Force remains on alert for for cyber crimes against minors and the importance of working together to fight these crimes. Officials claim that operations like this continue to be necessary to keep youngsters safe and make sure that people who break the law are punished.
