A 15-year-old Michigan girl was the target of a pastor in Virginia who attempted to groom her according to the FBI. The girls mother made the FBI aware of the situation that resulted in his arrest.
The pastor, Jacob Ryan Barnett, 34-years-old, allegedly posed as a teen boy named “Jodie Johnson” and messaged the girl on Tik Tok.
Barnett, posing as the fake teen boy, exchanged phone numbers with the victim and after a few days of persistent messaging, convinced her to send him a sexually explicit video of herself, said court docs.
Agents were then able to match “Jodie Johnson’s” Tik Tok and phone number to Barnett who resides in Catawba, Virginia. Phone records show Barnett was using the phone number while talking to the victim according to court documents.
As the FBI continued to monitor Barnett’s Tik Tok account he appeared to be following thousands of young girls. During the course of the investigation they also discovered he had other social media accounts on Discord and Snapchat. He allegedly used those accounts to solicit sexually explicit material from other kids while posing as a teenager.
Jacob Ryan Barnett was a pastor in Roanoke County, Virginia at the Catawba Valley Baptist Church.
He is currently listed as the “Associate Pastor of Students & Mobilization.”
He’s also involved with a local Christian summer camp, where their website lists him as a speaker who “loves teaching the next generation about the truths of the Bible and serving God’s people.”
Barnett faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum punishment of life if convicted.
“While the charges against Mr. Barnett are just allegations at this point, the facts presented do serve as a reminder for all parents to be aware of what their children are doing online,” United States Attorney C. Todd Gilbert said today.
“Our kids occupy a world where those seeking to harm them have countless avenues, like TikTok, Discord, Snapchat and others, to reach across vast distances directly into their bedrooms. Please, monitor their online activity, talk to them about the dangers that are out there, and let them know how to report folks who try to exploit them online.”
