Robert J. "Bob" Troester U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma
A federal jury has found Ronnie Allen Barton, 48, from Canadian County, guilty of multiple charges related to attempted child exploitation. The charges include two counts of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, one count of committing a sex offense as a registered sex offender, and one count of attempted receipt of child pornography. U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester announced the conviction.
The indictment against Barton was issued by a federal Grand Jury on February 20, 2025. The jury reached its verdict on June 17, 2025.
During the trial, evidence showed that in July 2024, an undercover FBI agent posted an online ad offering access to fictitious underage children for sexual purposes. Barton responded to this ad and over several months requested pornographic images of the children. He later arranged to meet the agent and the fictitious children at an Oklahoma City motel for sexual activities but was arrested upon arrival on January 24, 2025.
Barton is already a registered sex offender due to a previous felony conviction in 2018 for lewd acts or indecent proposals in Canadian County District Court case number CF-2017-254.
He faces a potential sentence ranging from no less than 20 years to life imprisonment and could be fined up to $250,000.
The FBI Oklahoma City Field Office conducted the investigation leading to Barton's arrest. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Joynes and Brandon Hale are handling the prosecution.
This case falls under Project Safe Childhood (PSC), an initiative by the Department of Justice aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse through collaboration among federal, state, and local resources. More information about PSC can be found at www.justice.gov/psc.
For further details on this case, public filings are available for reference.
