Former Tennessee Sheriff's Deputy Sentenced to 25 Years in Federal Prison for Production ...

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Johnathan Nathaniel Allen, 27, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for producing child sexual abuse material.*

The investigation revealed that Allen caused eight children from across the country to produce child sexual abuse material by posing as a child on social media and enticing the children to engage in illegal sex acts on video. He did so while serving as a sheriff’s deputy in Tennessee, where he worked since 2021.

The investigation began when a father in South Carolina found concerning text messages on his 13-year-old daughter’s cell phone and called the police. The York County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI determined that Allen was posing as a 14-year-old boy named “Josh” on internet-based accounts, which he used to exploit minors.

Allen used the social media platforms Instagram and , the messaging platform TextMe, and the gaming platform Roblox to target, recruit, and exploit children by causing them to produce and child sexual abuse material. He posed as a child, pressured minors to produce sexually explicit material, and threatened to the intimate images of one child if she refused to communicate with him.

Allen manipulated his minor victims by telling them he loved them, that they were beautiful, that he was proud of them, and that he would never do anything to harm them. One minor rejected his request for sexual content eight times, but Allen persisted and caused the minor to speak with him on the phone using a virtual number on the TextMe platform. During that call, he pressured the child into producing child sexual abuse material.

Allen asked one minor to engage in sex acts with a dog, and Allen attempted to recruit the minor’s cousins, friends, and family to engage in sex acts with the minor. The minor described Allen “begging” for sexual content, and one minor was in tears during the production because she did not want to produce the content. Allen told the minor he was proud of her and that he had taught her something new. He then directed the minor to delete content so that no one else would see them. One father recovered deleted content and provided it to law enforcement.

Agents searched Allen’s and recovered his phone, which had , TextMe, the fake “Josh” identity, and child sexual abuse material. Agents also found communications on Allens’ phone with the South Carolina minor, including calls to the minor after York County had seized the minor’s phone. Agents found clothes in Allen’s bedroom that “Josh” was wearing in explicit images sent to a minor, and one of the pictures shared by “Josh” on was a picture of Allen when he was younger.

Allen’s confirmed victims resided in South Carolina, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, and New York, and they were as young as sixth grade. “This defendant was sworn to serve and protect, instead he deceived and exploited,” said U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling for the District of South Carolina. “This sentence serves as a reminder that no matter who you are or where you live, if you exploit children in South Carolina, you will be held accountable.” “The defendant went to vile lengths to pretend to be someone he was not, all to victimize a child and deprive them of their innocence,” said FBI Columbia Special Agent in Charge Anish Shukla. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners will work tirelessly to protect children, and we will continue to hold accountable those who seek to harm them.” “This is just another example of the dedication and tireless pursuit of those who want to harm our children,” said York County Sheriff Tony Breeden. “Director Hamilton and Lt. Alex Clark, with their staff, are among the best in the country when it comes to hunting these predators down and prosecuting them.” United States District Judge Sherri A. Lydon sentenced Allen to 25 years’ imprisonment, to be followed by a 15-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system. Allen was ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution to the victim, plus an additional $4,000 to a victim services fund, and Allen will be required to register a sex offender. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC . This case was investigated by the FBI Columbia Field Office and the York County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and the Hamilton County, TN Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elliott B. Daniels prosecuted the case.

* The term “child pornography” is currently used in federal statutes and is defined as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a person less than 18 years old. While this phrase still appears in federal law, “child sexual abuse material” is preferred, as it better reflects the abuse that is depicted in the images and videos and the resulting trauma to the child.