Joseph Daniel Bair, a 40-year-old resident of Ladson, South Carolina, has been sentenced to 19 years in federal prison for attempting to entice a minor online for sexual activity. The case was part of an undercover investigation by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) in November 2021.
An officer from the task force created an online persona posing as a 13-year-old girl. Bair responded to this persona’s social media ad and engaged in explicit conversations, expressing his intentions to engage in sexual acts with the supposed minor. On December 5, 2021, Bair traveled from Ladson to Charleston County intending to meet the girl but was instead met by law enforcement officers and arrested.
At the time of his offense, Bair was listed on the South Carolina Sex Offender Registry due to a previous conviction for criminal solicitation of a minor in 2009. Investigations revealed that he had falsely reported his residence as Charleston while living in Ladson.
United States District Judge Bruce Howe Hendricks sentenced Bair to 230 months imprisonment followed by lifetime court-ordered supervision. Federal sentences do not allow parole.
The case falls under Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the U.S. Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse. This project is led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along with the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and involves collaboration between federal, state, and local resources.
The investigation involved several agencies including the Department of Homeland Security, Mount Pleasant Police Department, and Charleston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dean H. Secor is prosecuting the case.
