Joseph Lee Barnes, a 35-year-old resident of Wilmington, North Carolina, was sentenced to 151 months in prison for distributing child sexual abuse material. The sentencing was announced by Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Post-release, Barnes will serve a lifetime of supervised release and register as a sex offender. U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. ordered Barnes to pay $89,000 in restitution.
This announcement was made in conjunction with Cardell T. Morant, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in North and South Carolina. The case involved Barnes sharing files containing child sexual abuse material in a private chatroom during February 2024. An undercover agent, monitoring the chatroom, engaged Barnes in one-on-one interactions where Barnes expressed interest in illicit activities and claimed previous sexual abuse of minors.
Barnes continued communication with the undercover agent, sending additional material and planning to engage in illicit activities. He traveled to Western North Carolina for this purpose and was arrested by law enforcement at a pre-arranged meet-up. His devices, seized by law enforcement, revealed extensive child pornography content. A subsequent search of his apartment uncovered more electronic devices with similar content.
Barnes pleaded guilty on October 30, 2024, to the distribution of child pornography. While currently in federal custody, he awaits transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility. U.S. Attorney Ferguson recognized HSI's efforts in this case, also thanking the USMS Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Waynesville Police Department.
Assistant United States Attorney Alexis Solheim prosecuted the case under Project Safe Childhood, an initiative targeting child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice. The initiative collaborates federal, state, and local resources to identify and prosecute offenders and rescue victims. For more information, visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
