A former youth pastor from Catawba, Virginia, Jacob Ryan Barnett, has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of attempted sexual exploitation of a 15-year-old child. Barnett, 34, has been in federal custody since his arrest in August on charges related to the attempted coercion and enticement of a minor.
“Cases involving adults who use the internet to exploit young people are all too common,” said Acting United States Attorney Robert N. Tracci. “I urge parents to supervise their children’s internet use; vet their social media apps and caution them against answering unsolicited messages and friend requests. It’s disturbingly easy for predators to pose as children online. Barnett might have continued his online hunt for victims if the victim’s mother had not found the conversation between Barnett and the victim and reported it to the FBI.”
Ian Kauffmann, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division, stated: “Our children deserve to grow up in a world where adults protect them, not victimize them. Sadly, Jacob Barnett chose to do the latter, and now he will face justice for his crimes. The men and women of FBI Richmond will never stop pursuing these harmful predators and removing them from our communities.”
Court documents show that on May 18, 2025, Barnett contacted the minor victim using TikTok. After exchanging messages on TikTok, they began texting directly. Although the victim told Barnett she was 15 years old early in their conversations, Barnett falsely claimed he was 17 and sent her images of another young man pretending it was himself. As their communication continued, Barnett sent increasingly explicit sexual messages.
Barnett repeatedly asked the victim for photos and expressed romantic interest toward her. On May 20, 2025, he requested explicit content from her; in response, she sent him a video depicting herself in a sexual act.
Evidence presented at a detention hearing indicated that Barnett used several social media platforms—including TikTok, Discord, and Snapchat—to seek out minor girls for sexual conversations and images. He also solicited images from young men to use while posing as a teenage boy during these interactions.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is leading the investigation into this case. Assistant United States Attorney Drew O. Inman is prosecuting.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood—a Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 aimed at protecting children from exploitation by coordinating resources among federal, state, and local agencies to investigate and prosecute offenders.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
