A federal grand jury in Columbia returned a three-count indictment charging Johnathan Nathaniel Allen, 26, of Chattanooga, for enticement of a minor, production of child sexual abuse material* and obstruction of justice.
The indictment alleges that in September 2024 Allen used accounts on Reddit and TextMe to contact a 13-year-old girl in South Carolina. Allen, who was 25 at the time and a deputy with a county sheriff’s office since 2021, posed on the platform as a 14-year-old boy named Josh. Allen used an account on Reddit, and he used that social media account to target minors for sexual exploitation, one of whom was the minor victim. Allen also obtained a virtual phone number through the TextMe platform to facilitate the scheme. Allen targeted and communicated with the victim through both platforms, he told her that he loved her, and he caused the production of sexually explicit content depicting the minor. Allen told the victim that he was proud of her, and that she learned something new she could do. He also requested her to perform additional sex acts, and he told her to delete the messages so no one else would see them.
Allen faces a mandatory 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. He also faces supervision for a period of life following any prison sentence, and sex offender registry requirements. He is currently in custody on state charges. He will be arraigned in federal court on Sept. 4 at 10 a.m. before United States Magistrate Judge Paige J. Gossett.
The 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 is prosecuting the case.