Joseph Lee Barnes, a 35-year-old from Wilmington, N.C., received a sentence of 151 months in prison for distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Russ Ferguson, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, shared the news along with Cardell T. Morant, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in North Carolina and South Carolina. Following his prison term, Barnes will face a lifetime of supervised release and must register as a sex offender. Additionally, U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. ordered him to pay $89,000 in restitution.
The case against Barnes stemmed from his activities in a private chatroom in February 2024. This chatroom, found on an encrypted messaging platform, was dedicated to exchanging CSAM and related discussions. Barnes shared three files containing CSAM in the chatroom, which an undercover agent surveilling the platform also received. Taking the guise of an adult with access to a child, the agent engaged with Barnes, who showed interest in illicit sexual engagements and claimed to have previously abused children domestically and abroad.
Their interactions continued via text and online communications, during which Barnes sent further CSAM to the agent. Barnes traveled from Wilmington to Western North Carolina on March 14, 2024, intending to meet the agent and the child. Authorities arrested Barnes at the arranged meeting location and found child pornography on his devices. On the same day, HSI agents seized additional digital devices from Barnes's apartment, uncovering a vast collection of child sexual abuse imagery.
Barnes pleaded guilty on October 30, 2024, to distributing child pornography, and he is currently held in federal custody. He will be transferred to a federal prison upon the assignment of a facility.
U.S. Attorney Ferguson acknowledged HSI's investigative efforts and appreciated the support provided by the USMS Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Waynesville Police Department. The case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexis Solheim, is part of Project Safe Childhood. This Department of Justice initiative, started in May 2006, aims to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse by coordinating resources to apprehend and prosecute offenders and rescue victims.
For further information about Project Safe Childhood, visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.