COLUMBIA — The child porn guilty plea from former state Rep. RJ May, a conservative provocateur in the South Carolina Statehouse, has thrust a disturbing crime into the center of state politics.

And the possible charges of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor against former Charleston County Magistrate James B. Gosnell has only deepened public distrust.

As both disgraced officials sit in jails, their cases have sparked conversations about the rise in online child exploitation, child predators and the laws meant to stop them. Some lawmakers say the state must impose tougher penalties to deter predators, but others question whether retribution alone will work.

One of the most controversial proposals: a bill that would allow courts to order surgical castration for offender

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