A Paedophile from Gloucester, Stewart Barnett, has been imprisoned for grooming a 12-year-old girl. Stewart Barnett, 43, from Longlevens, Gloucester, impersonated a 19-year-old while communicating with the child on social media and transmitted videos of himself engaging in masturbation.
Gloucestershire Police report that Barnett communicated with the woman for several months last year, soliciting her to do sexual activities on herself. He requested that she transmit them to him in exchange for photographs and videos of himself engaging in masturbation.
The police were notified, leading to Barnett’s arrest and subsequent charges. He pleaded guilty to two charges of causing or encouraging a child under 13 to participate in sexual behaviour with penetration, and one count of causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity without penetration.
Investigating officer TDC Caroline George said: “Barnett preyed upon this child and sent her vile messages, which included trying to make her feel guilty when she didn’t want to send him certain videos. He displayed clear grooming behaviour by telling the victim that he loved her and wanted to meet her, while knowing he was speaking to, and exploiting, a child.
“I’d like to commend the girl’s courage for speaking about what was happening and working with us throughout the investigation.”
At a hearing on May 25, Barnett also admitted to making indecent images of a child (the victim), namely 20 images and four videos in category A, 28 images and 29 videos in category B and 190 images and nine videos in category C. He was sentenced at Gloucester Crown Court to six years and six months in prison.
Barnett was also given a restraining order for 10 years, a sexual harm prevention order for 15 years and he was placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.
Detective Inspector Simon Goodenough added: “We have a dedicated team which investigate these type of abhorrent offences and we’ll do everything we can in order to prosecute those who cause harm to children.
“The victim in this case has been extremely brave for speaking about Barnett’s horrid actions and I would too like to thank her and her family for working with us.”
Following the hearing, the victim’s mother said: “We feel relieved that justice has been served and that now we hope we can rebuild our lives moving forward.
“We would like to extend our grateful thanks for the amazing support we received from TDC Caroline George throughout every stage of this investigation.
“We would also like to thank our child exploitation social worker and Gloucestershire Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre for their hard work and the support which they have given our daughter.”
If you or anyone you know have been affected by the people highlighted in this article, then please report those individuals to the Police on 101 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report at Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.