MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A DeSoto County man has been sentenced three decades in federal prison for videoing himself sexually assaulting at least two children, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi announced Tuesday.
Joshua Chasestefan Anderson, 29, was sentenced to 30 years in prison and a life term of supervised release. He will be required to register as a sex offender wherever he lives, works, attends school, or lives temporarily upon his release.
According to the attorney’s office, court documents showed that a Southaven Police detective was investigating the sexual assault of an adult when he uncovered videos Anderson had made and kept on his cell phone. They said the videos showed the sexual assaults of two children, and that Anderson was identified by a “distinctive physical trait on his left hand.”
Jail records show Anderson was arrested in early 2021. The attorney’s office said Anderson was charged with the sexual exploitation of minors, to which he pleaded guilty.
“After choosing to victimize innocent children for his own warped sexual gratification, this defendant has earned every day of the 30-year sentence imposed in this case,” said U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner in a statement.
“Although we cannot undo the harm caused to these victims, the Southaven Police Department will leave no stone unturned when it comes to investigating and holding accountable sexual offenders who choose to victimize minors and innocent citizens,” said Southaven Police Chief Brent Vickers.
The prosecution was part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to fight child sexual exploitation and abuse.
