Athens Man Pleads Guilty to Child Exploitation, Faces Up to 30 Years in Prison

ATHENS, GA – William Barnett, II, 33, of Athens, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sexually exploit a child after an investigation uncovered he was sending explicit instructions for child abuse on social media.

Barnett entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Tilman E. “Tripp” Self, III, on August 4. He now faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, followed by up to a lifetime of supervised release. He will also have to register as a sex offender.

The investigation, a joint effort between Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Athens-Clarke County Police Department (ACCPD), began in February 2024. During an investigation into another man, Chris Adam Valentine, detectives discovered a chat thread between Valentine and Barnett from 2022 and 2023. In the chat, Barnett, using a pseudonym, received and sent links with child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

According to court documents, on August 22, 2022, after Valentine sent an image of a female child being sexually assaulted, Barnett responded with specific instructions to further abuse the child. Valentine reportedly followed the instructions and sent back additional images.

During the execution of a search warrant at Barnett’s residence on April 3, 2024, agents seized eight cellphones. Two of the devices contained CSAM, including 54 images and three videos of prepubescent minors and toddlers being sexually assaulted.

This case was investigated by HSI Atlanta’s Child Exploitation and Cyber Investigations Group and the ACCPD. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Peach.