By Jeff Devine, Dale County Chronicle
FORT RUCKER — An Army sergeant major who pleaded guilty to secretly recording family members and guests inside his home was sentenced Monday to four and a half years in prison at the conclusion of a court-martial at Fort Rucker.
Sgt. Maj. Joshua Prescott, 42, an unmanned aircraft systems repairer assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 223rd Aviation Regiment, was also reduced in rank to E-1 as part of the sentence handed down Feb. 9 by a military judge.
According to officials, the case began in July 2024 when the Enterprise Police Department received credible information that Prescott had secretly recorded a nude underage female while she was visiting his home in Enterprise.
A joint investigation by the Enterprise Police Department and the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division determined that Prescott had installed a hidden camera in the guest bathroom of his Alabama residence. The device recorded and saved videos of female house guests in various stages of undress, including while they were completely naked during bathroom activities.
Investigators also found that Prescott used his cellphone to secretly record a female guest while she showered at his residence during a prior assignment in Colorado.
Authorities said Prescott accumulated hundreds of videos over 14 years. Because of statute of limitations restrictions, prosecutors were limited in the charges they could pursue. He was ultimately charged with one specification of production of child pornography, one specification of attempted production of child pornography, three specifications of indecent recordings, and one specification of attempted indecent recording.
Prescott pleaded guilty to two specifications of indecent recordings. Under the terms of a plea agreement, the remaining charges were dismissed.
Maj. Morghan Beaudoin, prosecutor for the Third Circuit, Army Office of Special Trial Counsel, said the case represented a serious breach of trust and privacy.
“It is unfortunate that the victims had some of their most private moments video recorded without their consent, one of the victims was of the most vulnerable in our community, an underage female,” Beaudoin said. “It was an egregious violation of trust and privacy, but today’s outcome demonstrates that the military judicial system will penetrate the rank of the offender to seek justice.”
Beaudoin added that she hopes the outcome “will also allow the victims to gather some level of closure for their traumatic experiences.”
She also credited investigators and legal teams for their work on the case, stating that the “quick response and thorough investigation from Fort Rucker Army CID and Enterprise Police Department” ensured accountability.
Special Agent in Charge Ryan O’Connor of the Army CID Southeast Field Office said the investigative work was key to the conviction.
“The thorough investigative work by our Special Agents was instrumental in achieving this conviction, and while the pain inflicted on the victims can never be erased, this sentencing delivers a measure of justice and holds Prescott accountable for his actions,” O’Connor said.
Prescott will serve his sentence at the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Upon release, he will be required to register as a sex offender and comply with federal and state registration requirements.
The case was investigated by Army CID’s Fort Rucker Resident Unit with assistance from the Enterprise Police Department. It was prosecuted by attorneys from the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel and the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate at the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker.
Officials noted that the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel is responsible for the independent prosecution of serious offenses including murder, sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, kidnapping, and other major crimes.
