A former fitness coach at a CrossFit-affiliated gym in Mt. Juliet was sentenced to 200 months in federal prison Friday for three counts tied to the creation and distribution of child sexual abuse material. Joseph A. Cotter III, who was trusted by gym members and peers as a coach, now faces more than 16 years behind bars, a decade of probation, and sex-offender registration.
From a 10-Count Indictment to a Plea Deal
According to WKRN News 2, Cotter was initially indicted on 10 counts in January 2022. He later accepted a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to three of those counts, while the remaining charges tied to child sexual abuse material were dismissed under the terms of that agreement, court documents show. The indictment alleged Cotter was involved in creating and distributing the material between January 2018 and November 2021.
Beyond the prison term, a judge ordered Cotter to serve 10 years of probation following his release and to pay restitution reported in court filings as “$27,0000,” with funds to be distributed among at least nine individual victims, according to court documents cited by the station's report. Cotter will also be required to register as a sex offender and is barred from using any device with access to online computer services without court approval. The court further suggested that, upon release, Cotter take part in a residential or nonresidential sex-offender treatment program.
Character Letters Painted Him as a Trusted Coach
Ahead of sentencing, the court received at least seven character letters from Cotter's family, friends, and gym peers, per the same account. Those letters identified Cotter as a trusted fitness coach at the CrossFit-affiliated gym in Mt. Juliet, and the writers asked the judge to weigh his spiritual growth since his arrest. The gym's owner wrote that Cotter's behavior should not be excused but asked the court to also consider his character and good deeds, urging supervised release and alternative measures that could support his recovery, the station reported.
Part of a Broader Pattern in Federal Cases
Cotter's sentence lands within range of other recent federal child sexual abuse material cases nationally. A Talladega, Alabama man was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison for distributing child sex abuse material, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, Southern District of Alabama. In a separate Tennessee case, the U.S. Attorney reported that Brandon Wesley Rogers was ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release and pay $14,000 in restitution after his own CSAM sentencing. And in Arkansas, Dillon McKinney was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison for attempted enticement of a minor, per the U.S. Department of Justice, Eastern District of Arkansas.
Federal data suggests these cases are becoming more common. Of the 66,662 cases reported in fiscal year 2025, 1,432 involved child pornography, and child pornography offenses have increased 18% since fiscal year 2021, according to the United States Sentencing Commission. Cotter's case adds to that growing caseload, closing out a prosecution that began nearly five years ago with the conduct described in his indictment.
