Nashville man charged with child exploitation, child pornography violations after traveling to the Eastern District of Texas

SHERMAN, Texas - A Nashville, Tennessee man has been arrested and charged with federal child exploitation violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.

Joseph Dalton Bowman, 32, was named in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Texas charging him with coercion of a minor; production of child pornography; and traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. Bowman appeared before U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant on July 27, 2026, and was ordered to be detained.

Investigators have reason to believe that there are additional victims in this case. Bowman may have had contact with minors in the following cities and their surrounding areas:

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

If you suspect your child may have had contact with Joseph Dalton Bowman, either in person or through social media applications using accounts such as "snapwithdalton," please call the HSI Tipline at 1-877-4-HSI-TIP. Or you can submit a tip online at HSI Online Tip FormLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. or NCMEC Tipline CyberTiplineLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link.. Law enforcement will take the necessary steps to protect all minors' identities and confidential information.

If convicted, Bowman faces up to life in federal prison.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.

This case is being investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations - Child Exploitation Group and the Frisco Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Calli Bailey.

It is important to note that an indictment or arrest should not be considered as evidence of guilt and that all persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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