CHICAGO – An Aurora man was sentenced this week to decades in prison for enticing young girls to take sexually explicit photos of themselves and send them to him.
What we know:
Federal prosecutors said Richard Barnett pretended to be 12 or 13 years old when he contacted the girls online and either asked or demanded they send him sexual images of themselves.
Many of the girls were nine to 13 years old, and Barnett would sometimes threaten the victims with physical harm so they would comply, including telling one girl he would kidnap, assault and murder her.
The 46-year-old Aurora resident, previously of Rochester, New York, had been in custody since 2017. He pleaded guilty earlier this year to federal child pornography charges.
What they’re saying:
“Barnett remorselessly used these girls as objects to be employed in furtherance of his sexual gratification, inflicting trauma that will forever impact his victims’ lives,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Chapman told the judge before sentencing.
“He threatened his victims, humiliated them, degraded them, and viciously attacked any sense of self-esteem or confidence that stood in his way.”
On Tuesday, a judge sentenced Barnett to 34 years in prison and a lifetime of court supervision once he gets out.
The Source: The information in this article was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Illinois.
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