CHARLESTON, S.C. — In a chilling display of online predatory behavior, Joseph Daniel Bair, 40, of Ladson, has been handed a 19-year federal prison sentence for his attempt to entice a minor into sexual activity.
Bair’s descent into the criminal underworld began in early November 2021 when he engaged in sexually explicit conversations with an undercover officer posing as a 13-year-old girl. His brazenness reached new heights on December 5, 2021, when he attempted to meet the girl at a prearranged location in Charleston County, only to be met by law enforcement instead.
But this wasn’t Bair’s first brush with the legal system. He was already registered as a sex offender in South Carolina due to a 2009 conviction for criminal solicitation of a minor. Adding insult to injury, he had been lying about his residence, reporting that he lived in Charleston when he actually resided in Ladson.
Judge Bruce Howe Hendricks of the United States District Court sentenced Bair to 230 months imprisonment, followed by a lifetime term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system for such offenses.
This case was part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. The investigation was conducted by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, involving the Department of Homeland Security, Mount Pleasant Police Department, and Charleston Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Dean H. Secor handled the prosecution of this case. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.
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Key Facts
- State: South Carolina
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes|Cybercrime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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