A former deputy with the Cherokee County Sheriff's Department enters a guilty plea to charges of producing child pornography.

 

25-year-old Garrett Gayoso faces up to 20 years in federal prison after changing his original not guilty plea to guilty on Monday. As part of the plea agreement, Gayoso will be required to register as a sex offender and undergo supervised release. He will also be required to pay restitution if the victim requests it.

 

The conviction stems from communication between Gayoso and a 16-year-old juvenile from Massachusetts he met on an online dating site in 2024. Authorities say Gayoso exchanged thousands of messages with the teen, who he knew was underage. At the time, Gayoso was serving as a detective in the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office and was assigned to investigate online crimes against children.

 

Gayoso resigned as a deputy in May 2025 and was indicted by a grand jury the following December with one count of producing child pornography. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 29.