Katie 
Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.
Lexington, Kentucky: 40-year-old Joshua Preece, a former Bath County Deputy Sheriff, was sentenced to 300 months in federal prison on Monday, March 28 by U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell.
Preece plead guilty to a charge of enticing a minor victim to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography as a part of a plea agreement in October 2021.
On November 5, 2018, according to Preece's plea agreement, he admitted to answering a call concerning a minor that was acting out of control at her residence. After responding, he transported the victim to a remote barn in Bath County and sexually assaulted her. He later asked for sexually explicit images from her over Snapchat.
Multiple sexually explicit images were located on Preece's cell phone by law enforcement.
Preece must serve 85% of his sentence, or 255 months, before he could be released. Upon release, Preece will be under supervision by the U.S. Probation Office for life. The release does not disclose if Preece is also required to register as a sex offender.
Carlton S. Shier IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky stated, "The conduct in this case is simply disgraceful. The offense itself- a brazen act of child exploitation and abuse- is abhorrent, but the fact that he did it while he was a law enforcement officer makes it even more so. He abused a vulnerable victim, while also betraying a public trust and doing enduring disservice to the dedicated efforts of all law enforcement. I am grateful for hard work of our law enforcement partners, whose efforts made this prosecution possible."
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