After pleading guilty to child pornography charges in October 2021, a former Bath County Deputy Sheriff was sentenced to 300 months in federal prison on Monday.
A release from the Department of Justice said 40-year-old Joshua Preece was accused of taking a minor from her home, sexually assaulting her, and asking her for sexually explicit pictures. He was arrested on suspicion of the crimes in November of 2018. At that time, Bath County Sheriff John Snedegar confirmed that Preece was a deputy and worked for the Kentucky State Police post in Morehead for about 10 years prior to being hired.
“The conduct in this case is simply disgraceful,” said Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “The offense itself – a brazen act of child exploitation and abuse – is abhorrent, but the fact that he did it while he was a law enforcement officer makes it even more so. He abused a vulnerable victim, while also betraying a public trust and doing enduring disservice to the dedicated efforts of all law enforcement.”
According to WYMT, Federal law says Preece must serve 85% of his sentence, and when he is released from prison, he will be under the supervision of a probation officer for life.