A sexual predator from Washington County went to federal prison Friday for 25 years and will likely be on probation for the rest of his life.
Joey Leroy Barton, 52, of Charleroi, had pleaded guilty in the summer to child porn-related counts of receipt of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor.
Unlike many other child porn defendants who download or trade child porn, Barton had been in regular contact with an out-of-state victim and indicated he planned to have sex with him. He also has a prior conviction for child exploitation.
“The government notes that while the offenders of most child pornography offenses do not involve direct contact with the children in the images, here, [Barton’s] direct victimization requires a punishment that reflects the seriousness of his offenses,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Heidi Grogan prior to sentencing.
U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV agreed, saying Barton’s actions fall “below the minimal standards of decency.” He said the 25-year term and 12 years of probation after that will protect children and deter other predators.
Barton had been indicted in 2020 after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, North Strabane police and police in Roseville, Minn., where the victim lives.
On two dates in March and April 2019, prosecutors said, Barton received and attempted to receive digital images depicting the sexual exploitation of the boy in Minnesota.
He had contacted the boy on Facebook Messenger, and the two talked online into the fall of 2019. During those conversations, Barton sent explicit images of himself as well as adult porn to the child as part of the grooming process and planned to meet the child for sex, according to police and federal agents.
In the chats, Barton acknowledged the child’s age and his knowledge that what he was doing was illegal.
In addition to the prison term and the probation, Judge Stickman also ordered that Barton pay $3,000 in restitution.
Barton will be well into his 80s when he gets out of prison and is likely to die before he is released from the dozen years of court supervision.
Torsten covers the courts for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Reach him at jtorsteno@gmail.com.
