Joseph Harold Patterson, 58, Sentenced to 17 1/2 Years for Transporting Minors Across State Lines
A South Carolina man was sentenced to 17 1/2 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for transporting minors across state lines to engage in criminal sexual activity. Joseph Harold Patterson, 58, of Anderson, S.C., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. on April 26, 2017.
Patterson was found guilty of one count of interstate transportation of a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. He was also ordered to register on the sex offender registry and pay a $20,000 court fine, as well as $4,538.42 in restitution.
According to court documents, Patterson made at least three camping trips between 2009 and 2011, transporting three minor victims from Anderson, S.C. to the Smokemont Campground in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Court records show that Patterson knew the minors through his affiliation with a church in Anderson.
Patterson pleaded guilty in February 2017 to the charge and is currently in the custody of the United States Marshal pending his designation to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose commended the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch for leading the investigation and thanked the Anderson Police Department in South Carolina and the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office for their assistance in the case.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice aimed at combating the growing online sexual exploitation of children.
Chief Ranger Steven Kloster of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Service joined U.S. Attorney Rose in making the announcement, stating, “We are thankful to see justice prevail and hope that the individuals impacted by these despicable crimes are able to find some measure of solace in Mr. Patterson’s punishment.”
Key Facts
- State: South Carolina
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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