Franklin Man Sentenced to 60 Years in Federal Prison for Sexual Exploitation of Children

Bowling Green, KY - A Franklin man was sentenced on January 20, 2026, for multiple child exploitation offenses.

U.S. Attorney Kyle G. Bumgarner of the Western District of Kentucky, Acting Special Agent in Charge Colin W. Jackson of the Homeland Security Investigations Nashville, and Sheriff Jere Hopson of the Simpson County Sheriff's Office made the announcement.

Joseph Roush, 27, was sentenced to 60 years in federal prison, followed by a term of lifetime supervised release, for one count of distribution of child pornography, one count of possession of child pornography, and one count of sexual exploitation of a child. The Court ordered Roush to pay $69,000 in restitution, $3,000 to each of the identified victims.

Over the course of several years, Roush possessed and distributed tens of thousands of images and videos containing child sexual abuse material. Investigators located approximately 20,000 images and videos across his numerous devices. Roush participated in the hands-on sexual exploitation of children in other countries via an online streaming platform and used a child entrusted to his care to produce images containing child sexual abuse material.

United States Attorney Kyle Bumgarner stated, "While our prosecutors sadly see the worst in humanity, Roush stands out as particularly sadistic. Roush systematically abused and forever altered the lives of innocent children throughout the world. The destruction that Roush left in his wake cannot be overstated. His 60-year sentence is essentially a life sentence. My hope is he spends every last day of his life incarcerated and reflecting upon his despicable acts. And to every other pedophile out there, I hope that you look at Roush and immediately stop your immoral and horrific conduct because we will find you and you will spend the rest of your life in prison next to Roush."

"I was impressed with the spirit of cooperation between our Detective and the Federal Agents he worked with. The joint effort led to making our community a safer place," stated Sheriff Jere Hopson.

There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was investigated by HSI and the Simpson County Sheriff's Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Leigh Ann Dycus, of the U.S. Attorney's Paducah Branch Office, prosecuted the case.

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 the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.usdoj.gov/pscLinks 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.. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/pscLinks 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. and click on the tab "resources."

###