On Friday, May 01, 2020, Tom Green County Sheriff's Deputies initiated an extended investigation for the offense of Online Solicitation of a Minor. During the investigation, Deputies assumed the online persona of a known juvenile female under the age of 17. The juvenile female and the Defendant, Joshua Paul Cox, had met via a social media site and in person on an earlier date. Cox made contact with Deputies and arranged plans via social media to meet with whom he believed was the juvenile female. This meeting was to take place at an elementary school with the intent to engage in sexual acts with the juvenile female. Cox was taken into custody without incident in the elementary school parking lot by Tom Green County Deputies. 

During a subsequent interview with Tom Green County Sheriff's Office Deputies, Cox admitted to numerous other sexually related crimes against children and to being in possession of child pornography.  Additionally, Cox was found to have enticed multiple juvenile females to produce digital images and videos performing sexual acts.  It was determined Cox was using multiple social media accounts to communicate with juvenile females, and he had used impersonation tactics to exploit and entice juvenile females into communicating with him.  The exploited females were found to reside both inside and outside the State of Texas, including Tom Green County. 

On May 13, 2020, a United States District Court issued an indictment Joshua Paul Cox for Production of Child Pornography and Enticement of a Minor.

On May 15, 2020, Deputies of the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office located Joshua Paul Cox at a residence in San Angelo. Cox was taken into custody by Tom Green County Deputies and U.S Federal Agents.   Currently, Joshua Paul Cox has additional charges pending for Sexual Assault of a Child in Tom Green County, Texas. 

The targeting of children is a nationwide issue, and this serves as a reminder that our community needs to remain vigilant to protect the most vulnerable from exploitation.  The success of this investigation is due to the hard work and dedication of law enforcement officers who continuously strive to protect our children and our communities each and every day.