A man who worked as a youth pastor at a Catawba Valley church remained in jail Thursday, following his initial appearance in federal court on a charge of attempted coercion and enticement of a child.
Jacob Ryan Barnett, 34, did not contest a request from Assistant U.S. Attorney Drew Inman that he be held without bail on a charge that carries a maximum punishment of life in prison.
Barnett
Catawba County Detention Facility
Federal authorities say Barnett posed online as a 17-year-old boy, first on social media and later by text, when he contacted a 15-year-old girl in Michigan and convinced her to send him sexually explicit photos and videos of herself.
A search warrant filed in U.S. District Court in Âé¶¹´«Ã½¹ÙÍø indicates that he may have had similar exchanges with other minors though online platforms that included TikTok, Snapchat and Discord.
“Barnett engaged in sexual Discord chats with many other persons, some of whom are likely minors based on their conversations and images they sent to Barnett,†a federal agent wrote in an affidavit seeking court approval to search his Catawba home.
Calls and emails to the Botetourt County church were not returned. On Thursday, a recording on the church line identified Barnett as an associate pastor, and provided an option to reach him directly. “No one is available to take your call,†the recording stated.
In May, the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center received an online tip from the Michigan girl’s mother, who took her daughter’s cellphone while she slept. Intending to use the phone to message someone, she discovered the photos and videos.
Authorities linked the communications to Barnett, who according to court records began with casual talk and flirting.
Using a TikTok profile that depicted a teenage boy named Jodie Johnson, Barnett eventually asked the girl to send him photos of her in a bikini and, when she did, he moved on to “very graphic†comments about sex and requests for sexually explicit images, court records state.
At Thursday’s hearing, Barnett spoke only to answer routine questions from U.S. Magistrate Judge Kailani Memmer. His attorney, Assistant Federal Public Defender Heidi Bohn, told the court that she may later request a bond hearing.