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On October 18, 2023, Ira Wayne Josey was arrested by the Decatur County Sheriff’s Office on two counts of child pornography. The next month, on November 20, 2023, Josey was additionally charged with sodomy, enticing a child, and three counts of child molestation. Now, the district attorney’s office has filed an additional charge, that being aggravated child molestation.

According to Decatur County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Vincent Edmond, while the child pornography charges were brought by the state, the various molestation charges are part of an ongoing investigation that began in 2022. Edmond explained that Josey, previously a pastor at a local church, had taken in the two alleged victims, who had attended the church. The alleged crimes were reported to authorities on November 30, 2022.

Josey had previously been arrested in 1989 for one count each of sodomy and child molestation, and given two 20-year sentences in 1990, but was paroled by the state in 1992. Additionally, the prison portion of Josey’s sentence was commuted to time served in 1996, and he was not listed on the sex offender registry, as it did not exist at the time. Investigator Edmond asserted that these latest charges mirrored the 1989 charges.

A trial date has tentatively been set for November of this year. The Post-Searchlight will provide updates on this case as they become available.

Previous reporting on the case can be read here: https://www.thepostsearchlight.com/2023/10/26/attapulgus-sex-offender-arrested-on-two-counts-of-child-pornography/