South Carolina Man Sentenced To 20 Years For Attempting To Engage Minors In Sexual Activity

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. yesterday sentenced Joshua Alan Dunlap (38, South Carolina) to 20 years in federal prison for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity and traveling to engage in sexual conduct with a minor. The court also ordered him to forfeit an iPhone, which had been used in furtherance of the commission of the offense.

Dunlap pleaded guilty on November 20, 2017.

According to court documents, from July 25 to July 30, 2017, Dunlap communicated with federal and state undercover agents in an attempt to set up meetings with two fictitious minors – ages 11 and 14. He expressed his intent to teach the 11-year-old about bondage, domination, submission, sadistic, and masochist conduct by having sex with her and treating her as his pet and toy. He also said that he wanted to take the girl to his “play dungeon.” Dunlap said that he intended to provide rudimentary sexual education, involving masturbation and oral sex, to the 14-year-old girl. Dunlap was in St. Johns County when he arrived at the home of the older “child.”

During the execution of a search warrant at Dunlap’s home following his arrest, agents found a room consistent with Dunlap’s description of his “play dungeon.” Suitcases containing whips, sex toys, masks, condoms, and personalized dog collars with tags that read “Joshua’s Pet” and “Joshua’s Toy,” were found inside the room, along with a 4-poster bed with chains and eyebolts on the corners.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ilianys Rivera Miranda.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.