Man charged in Texas child sex crimes case may have victims across multiple states, prosecutors say
A Tennessee man is in federal custody in Texas as he faces three felony charges for child sex crimes, as authorities search for more victims.
Jay Combs, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, announced Wednesday that 32-year-old Joseph Dalton Bowman of Nashville was arrested in April.
According to court documents filed with the federal court in Sherman, a 14-year-old boy contacted Frisco PD on April 27 and said he had been in contact with a man online, identified as Bowman, who was in Texas for work. A Denton County judge issued an arrest warrant for online solicitation of a minor, and Bowman was arrested at Dallas Love Field on April 30 as he was about to return to Tennessee.
A search of Bowman's electronic devices yielded more than 39,000 images and 5,700 videos of child pornography, investigators said. Thousands of the images and hundreds of the videos depicted infants and toddlers. Investigators were examining another device that contained another approximately 80,000 images and videos, prosecutors said.
Bowman allegedly made contact with victims both in person and virtually through Snapchat account "snapwithdalton", video calls and other means.
Bowman is charged with coercion and enticement of a minor, production of child pornography and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant ordered that Bowman remain in jail pending trial.
The indictment is based on alleged actions involving one victim, a minor who is referred to as Victim 1. Prosecutors say that based on the evidence, they have reason to believe there are additional victims and that Bowman may have had contact with children across numerous cities:
- Lakeland, Florida
- Tampa, Florida
- North Chesterfield, Virginia
- Glen Allen, Virginia
- Covington, Kentucky
- Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
- New York City, New York
- Brooklyn, New York
- Mulvane, Kansas
- Caldwell, Kansas
- Kansas City, Missouri
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Mount Juliet, Tennessee
- Orlando, Florida
- Dallas, Texas
- Frisco, Texas
Prosecutors ask anyone who suspects their child had virtual or physical contact with Dalton to contact the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) tip line at 1-877-4-HSI-TIP (1-877-447-4847). Tips can also be submitted online through HSI or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
