Joseph Daniel Bair, a 40-year-old man from Ladson, has been sentenced to 19 years in federal prison for attempting to entice a minor online for sexual activity. In November 2021, the South Carolina Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force conducted an undercover operation targeting online sexual offenders. An officer created an online persona of a 13-year-old girl.
Bair responded to the officer’s social media ad and engaged in explicit conversations about his intentions. On December 5, 2021, Bair traveled from Ladson to Charleston County to meet the girl but was arrested by law enforcement upon arrival.
At the time of his arrest, Bair was on the South Carolina Sex Offender Registry due to a prior conviction for criminal solicitation of a minor in 2009. It was discovered that he falsely reported living in Charleston while residing in Ladson.
United States District Judge Bruce Howe Hendricks sentenced Bair to 230 months imprisonment with lifetime supervision post-release. Federal sentences do not allow parole.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative by the U.S. Department of Justice aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse since May 2006. The project involves federal, state, and local resources to locate and prosecute offenders and rescue victims.
The investigation involved multiple agencies including the South Carolina Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Department of Homeland Security, Mount Pleasant Police Department, and Charleston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dean H. Secor is prosecuting this case.
