Memphis, TN - Joshua Henley, 34, formerly of Benton County, has been sentenced to 45 years in
federal prison for producing sexually explicit images of a minor, transporting, and possessing
child exploitation material, and transporting a minor interstate with the intent to engage in
sexual activity. United States Attorney Kevin G. Ritz announced the sentence today.
According to the information presented in court, from 2017 until April 2021, Henley was the pastor
at Holladay Church of Christ and coached the girls’ basketball team at Holladay Elementary. In
April 2021, Henley left Benton County to become the youth pastor at a church in Indiana. In June
2021, Henley returned to Benton County and transported a teen to Indiana under the guise that she
was to assist at his new parish. Instead, Henley sexually assaulted the teen. Henley was arrested
as he was driving her back to Tennessee.
At the time of Henley’s arrest, he had a cell phone which contained sexually explicit images and
videos of two other Tennessee teenagers with which he had contact through SnapChat and FaceTime.
The teens each disclosed that Henley also engaged in sexual activity with them.
Henley has worked with young people in other states including Oklahoma and Texas.
United States District Judge S. Thomas Anderson sentenced Henley to 540 months in federal prison to
be followed by ten years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Benton County
Sheriff’s Department, the Evansville Police Department and TBI’s Technical Service Unit.
United States Attorney Kevin Ritz thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Debra Ireland and
Lauren Delery, who prosecuted this case, as well as law enforcement partners
who investigated the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys