William Barnett II, Sexually Exploiting a Child, Georgia 2024

A 33-year-old Athens man who admitted to sending explicit instructions for the abuse of a young girl over social media is facing up to 30 years in prison for his crime.

William Barnett, II, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to sexually exploit a child before U.S. District Judge Tilman E. “Tripp” Self, III, on August 4, 2024.

Barnett faces a maximum sentence of 30 years imprisonment and a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years imprisonment to be followed by a minimum of five years up to a lifetime of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

In addition, Barnett will have to register as a sex offender upon release from prison. There is no parole in the federal system.

“The sexual exploitation and abuse of children is intolerable, and our office is relentless in the pursuit of justice on behalf of the most vulnerable victims,” said U.S. Attorney William R. “Will” Keyes.

The investigation into Barnett began when Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Atlanta’s Child Exploitation and Cyber Investigations Group (CECIG) was investigating a case in February 2024, involving child sexual abuse material (CSAM) being shared using the social media and file sharing platform Mega.

During the investigation, agents discovered a chat thread between Barnett and Chris Adam Valentine, a suspect in a separate case involving the abuse of minor children.

Valentine sent numerous images of CSAM to Barnett, including a video depicting the sexual assault of a girl between the ages of six and ten years old by an adult man.

A search warrant was obtained and executed at Barnett’s residence on April 3, 2024. Barnett was not home at the time the warrant was executed but was soon located nearby and was arrested.

Agents seized eight cellphones; two of the devices contained CSAM. One cellphone had 54 images and three videos of prepubescent minors and toddlers being sexually assaulted and abused by adults.

Barnett was arrested and charged with one count of conspiracy to sexually exploit a child. He pleaded guilty to the charge and faces a maximum sentence of 30 years imprisonment and a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years imprisonment.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdga/pr/northeast-georgia-resident-pleads-guilty-sexually-exploiting-child