Former deputy lured 8 kids into producing sexual abuse material, asked one to engage in acts with dog
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CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee — A former Tennessee sheriff’s deputy posed as a 14-year-old boy online to manipulate children as young as sixth grade into producing sexually explicit videos and images. He pressured one child to engage in sex acts with a dog, threatened to expose another child’s intimate images and even encouraged victims to recruit their own relatives and friends.
Johnathan Nathaniel Allen, 27, of Chattanooga, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for producing child sexual abuse material after an investigation uncovered eight confirmed victims across the country, according to news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of South Carolina. Allen carried out the abuse while serving as a sheriff’s deputy, a position he had held since 2021.
The investigation began when a South Carolina father discovered disturbing text messages on his 13-year-old daughter’s phone and contacted police. Investigators with the York County Sheriff’s Office and FBI discovered that Allen had been posing as a teenage boy named “Josh” on social media and other online platforms to target and exploit children.
Allen used Instagram, Reddit, TextMe and the online gaming platform Roblox to contact minors, gain their trust and pressure them into producing sexual content.
Investigators say Allen manipulated the children with declarations of love, compliments and reassurances that he would never hurt them. When one child refused his demands for sexual content eight times, Allen continued pushing until he persuaded the child to speak with him by phone using a virtual number through TextMe. During the call, he pressured the child into producing sexual abuse material.
In another disturbing example, Allen threatened to distribute one child’s intimate images if the child refused to communicate with him.
The abuse became even more alarming when Allen asked one minor to engage in sex acts with a dog and attempted to recruit the child’s cousins, friends and family members to participate in sexual acts with the victim.
One child described Allen as repeatedly “begging” for sexual content. Another was crying while producing material because the child did not want to do it. Allen responded by telling the child he was proud and had taught the child something new.
He then directed the child to delete the material so nobody else would see it. But one victim’s father managed to recover deleted content and turned it over to investigators.
Authorities ultimately identified victims in South Carolina, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri and New York.
When agents searched Allen’s home, they recovered his phone, which contained the Reddit and TextMe accounts associated with the fake “Josh” identity, along with child sexual abuse material. Investigators also found communications with the South Carolina victim, including calls Allen made after authorities had seized the child’s phone.
Agents discovered clothing in Allen’s bedroom that matched what “Josh” wore in explicit images sent to a minor. One photograph the fake identity had shared on Reddit was also a picture of Allen when he was younger.
“This defendant was sworn to serve and protect, instead he deceived and exploited,” U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling said.
FBI Columbia Special Agent in Charge Anish Shukla said Allen went to “vile lengths” to impersonate someone else to victimize a child and rob that child of their innocence.
U.S. District Judge Sherri A. Lydon sentenced Allen to 25 years in federal prison, followed by 15 years of court-ordered supervision. He was also ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution to a victim and another $4,000 to a victim services fund. Allen must register as a sex offender.
There is no parole in the federal prison system.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Columbia Field Office and the York County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and the Hamilton County, Tennessee, Sheriff’s Office.