A youth pastor at a Virginia church has been arrested and charged with allegedly soliciting sexually explicit materials from an underage girl on social media.
Jacob Ryan Barnett, a 34-year-old youth pastor at Catawba Valley Baptist Church, was arrested last week in North Carolina and later transported to Virginia to face charges.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia, Barnett attempted to groom a 15-year-old girl living in Michigan via TikTok messages.
Barnett allegedly claimed to be a teenage boy named “Jodie Johnson,” exchanging phone numbers with the minor and asking her numerous times to send him a sexually explicit video of herself.
Investigators with the FBI received a tip about the behavior, eventually learning that the phone number and TikTok account belonged to Barnett.
According to authorities, the TikTok account belonging to Barnett was following thousands of young girls, and Barnett was allegedly also on accounts on Discord and Snapchat to solicit sexually explicit material from minors, again posing as a teenager.
U.S. Attorney C. Todd Gilbert was quoted in the press release as saying that “the facts presented do serve as a reminder for all parents to be aware of what their children are doing online.”
“Our kids occupy a world where those seeking to harm them have countless avenues, like TikTok, Discord, Snapchat and others, to reach across vast distances directly into their bedrooms,” Gilbert continued.
“Please, monitor their online activity, talk to them about the dangers that are out there, and let them know how to report folks who try to exploit them online.”
For their part, Catawba Valley Baptist released a statement saying they were “devastated by the recent news concerning Jake Barnett and the serious charges brought against him.”
“We are deeply grieved by these allegations. Our prayers are with anyone who may have been impacted, and we ask the Lord for comfort, healing and justice,” the church stated.
“As a church, we remain fully committed to the highest standards of protection, safety, and care for every child, student, and family who is part of our fellowship. We continue to take every measure possible to maintain a safe environment for all.”
The church went on to note that they were “cooperating with the proper authorities and will refrain from additional public comment while the legal process continues.”
