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Would-be Murderer and Child Rapist used the Dark Web to try Necrophilia and Cannibalism.
A 23-year-old Joaquin, Texas man has been sentenced for child exploitation violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Cox.
Alexander Nathan Barter pleaded guilty on December 20, 2019, to attempted coercion and enticement of a minor and distribution of child pornography and was sentenced to 480 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Michael Truncale. Following his prison sentence completion, the court ordered Barter to submit to a lifetime of supervised release.
Barter’s plea agreement with the government is a term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count. Each party reserves the right to request that the sentence is concurrently or consecutively. Barter’s counsel requested that the court impose a total term of 20 years; the government asked for a sentence of 40 years’ imprisonment.
According to the information introduced as part of Barter’s plea and at sentencing, in October 2018, Barter posted an ad on a dark web site stating, “I’d like to try necrophilia and cannibalism, and see how it feels to take a life. If you’d be willing to let me kill you, are in the U.S. (preferably in the south), and travel by car, contact me.” An undercover officer saw the ad and responded, utilizing a father’s persona with a 13-year-old daughter. Between October 9, 2018, and October 19, 2018, Barter and the undercover officer exchanged messages that included Barter’s repeated interest in raping, killing, and eating the 13-year old child. Barter provided the covert with instructions on traveling from Florida to Shelby County, Texas, what to tell the child to get her acquiescence to travel, and how to conceal evidence of their crime. On October 19, 2018, Barter arrived at the designated meet site in Joaquin, Texas, with a knife, trash bag, cellular phone, and a tablet.
“As this chilling case demonstrates, online talk does not always talk. The constant vigilance of our law enforcement partners has prevented an evildoer from finding a like-minded accomplice and bringing his grisly plan to fruition,” said U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Cox. “This case is a sobering reminder of how the brave men and women of law enforcement face down the worst of the worst in the scariest of scenarios.”
“In my 23-year-career in law enforcement, this is among the most morally depraved and appalling criminal conspiracies that I have come across,” said Mark Dawson, a special agent in charge of HSI Houston. “Without the quick and decisive actions of special agents from HSI Cocoa Beach and HSI Beaumont, this disturbed predator would still be out there looking for potential victims to carry out his sick and demented fantasies.”
This case was part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources led the case to locate better, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet. Also, to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc<http://www.justice.gov/psc?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery>.
Homeland Security Investigations is investigating this case in Lufkin, Beaumont, and Houston, Texas; Homeland Security Investigations Cocoa Beach, Florida, Child Exploitation Task Force; Brevard County Sheriff’s Office (Florida); Nacogdoches Police Department; Texas Department of Public Safety; Customs and Border Protection Air Units; and Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Miller and U.S. Department of Justice Senior Trial Attorney Jennifer Toritto Leonardo.