Opediah Barnett, 31 years old, of Michigan City, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after pleading guilty to two counts of production of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.
Barnett was sentenced to 292 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release as well as $6000 in restitution.
According to documents in the case, in July of 2021 and January of 2022, Barnett persuaded two separate minors he met online to send him images of child sexual abuse material. Barnett also traveled out of state in an attempt to meet with one of the minors.
This case was investigated by the United States Department of Homeland Security, Department of Homeland Security Investigations with the assistance of the Indiana State Police; the Spokane County, Washington Sheriff’s Department; and the Raleigh County, West Virginia, Sheriff’s Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Maciejczyk.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit
www.projectsafechildhood.gov