ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A soldier who was absent without leave for six years after producing child porn was caught earlier this year, Army Times reports.
Spc. Robert L Barnett III, 35, since has been sentenced to 11 years in prison and dishonorably discharged after being found guilty in October by a military judge of desertion and on child porn charges, the newspaper says.
Barnett was captured in May in England and transferred into U.S. military custody. Army Times reports, citing a statement from the 82nd Airborne Division, Barnett was involved in lewd web camera exchanges with several minors during much of 2012.
After being caught in a sting by the FBI Internet Crime Against Children, Barnett left his unit and relocated with his wife and children to the United Kingdom.
The AWOL soldier's whereabouts were unknown for those six years, and he was listed as "armed and dangerous" on the Army Office of the Provost Marshal General's website.
The military credits international cooperation, including police in the United Kingdom who helped make the arrest, for searching for and capturing Barnett.
“Besides taking a child predator off the streets and enabling the capture of an Army’s most wanted fugitive, this was a big liaison win for Det. 541,” wrote Col. Shan B. Nuckols in a release.
What other people are reading right now:
- Mom whose toddler was run over by an SUV lost another child in a 2015 crash, deputies say
- Teacher accused of having sex with student found dead along with her husband
- Thief steals thousands of dollars in gifts from Clearwater couple's wedding
- Arrest made in connection with deadly ambush in Mexico that killed 9 people
- Virginia cyclist who gave President Trump the middle finger gets elected
- Sarasota school superintendent under fire wants new job title, $180,000 salary
FREE 10NEWS APP:
