Ex-Manatee deputy sentenced decades after fleeing child sex case, records show
A former Manatee County sheriff’s deputy who fled after being charged with sexually abusing a child decades ago was sentenced after authorities found him using a stolen identity in Alaska.
Joseph Keenan May, 72, originally faced a capital sexual battery charge after investigators accused him of repeatedly sexually abusing a girl younger than 12 between 1976 and 1977, according to an arrest report.
May pleaded no contest on May 18 to a reduced charge of lewd, lascivious or indecent assault or act upon or in the presence of a child in Manatee County Circuit Court. Judge Frederick Mercurio sentenced him to 13 years in prison, court records show.
An attorney representing May did not immediately respond to the Bradenton Herald’s request for comment.
Former Manatee deputy sentenced
May, a former Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputy, was first arrested in this case in 1990. Court records show a judge later reduced his bond from $25,000 to $5,000 before May posted bond and disappeared the following year.
May failed to appear for a hearing in August 1991, prompting a judge to issue a bench warrant and order the forfeiture of his bond.
Investigators say May then spent more than two decades living as a fugitive.
Federal prosecutors accused May of fleeing to Alaska and assuming the identity of his deceased stepbrother.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska, May used his stepbrother’s Social Security number to obtain an Alaska driver’s license, fraudulently collect unemployment benefits and apply for a federal firearms license while falsely claiming he was not a fugitive.
An FBI tactical team arrested May at a home in Eagle River, Alaska in June 2014, according to court records.
Decades on the run, feds say
Federal investigators later said they discovered May possessed eight firearms, nine hand grenades and components used to create destructive devices. Authorities also found child sexual abuse material on his computer, according to an arrest report.
Investigators additionally recovered journals written by May that expressed hatred toward Muslims, the president of the United States and other groups while discussing violent actions against people he opposed, according to federal prosecutors.
During May’s federal sentencing in Alaska in 2015, U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason described the writings as “disturbing” and said there was a “real possibility” May intended to commit violence. Gleason also described May’s interest in child sexual abuse material as “perverse,” according to federal prosecutors.
May later pleaded guilty in federal court to multiple felony charges tied to identity theft, weapons violations and possession of child sexual abuse material, according to court records. Gleason sentenced him to 12 years in federal prison followed by 15 years of supervised release.
After serving his federal sentence, May was extradited back to Manatee County in 2024 to face the unresolved Florida case, court records show.
Prosecutors eventually agreed to reduce the original capital sexual battery charge as part of a plea deal, according to court records.
In addition to the 13-year prison sentence, Mercurio ordered May to have no contact with the victim, submit a DNA sample and register as a sexual offender. He also received credit for 618 days already served in custody.
