Registered Davis County sex offender sentenced to prison for having child porn
FARMINGTON — A 24-year-old registered sex offender was sentenced to prison for having child pornography images on his Facebook account and cell phone.
Judge David Connors sentenced Jeremiah Dale Barker on Tuesday, Sept. 13, to serve four terms of 1 to 15 years and one term of up to five years at the Utah State Prison. Connors said the sentences, which were for two cases, can run concurrently.
Barker had pleaded guilty in May to three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, second-degree felonies; and one count of dealing in harmful materials to a minor, a third-degree felony.
One of the 1 to 15 years sentence was for violating his probation that he was sentenced in March 2015. Barker had pleaded guilty in January 2015 to one count of sex abuse of a child, a second-degree felony.
Mark Arrington, Barker’s attorney, said the child pornography images on Barker’s cell phone were on there before Barker entered the Northern Utah Community Correctional Center in Ogden. Barker was serving his probation sentence for the 2015 case at the center when officers found the child pornography on his cell phone.
Arrington also said Barker did have contact with two of the victims, while he was on probation, but both victims live out of the state.
Assistant Attorney General Cynthia Poulson said Barker has a “serious criminal history, including his prior juvenile record and adult record.”
Poulson said prison is the only option for Barker to “protect the community and to protect juveniles.”
According to a court document filed May 24, Barker admitted he had on his Facebook account and cell phone “more than three images of child pornography that depicted minor females in sexually explicit conduct.” Those photos had been placed there sometime between September 2014 and September 2015.
He also admitted to sending photos of his genitalia to three underage girls, according to the document.
When interviewed by officers, Barker admitted he met the girls, some as young as 12, through social networks, according to the document. They would agree to “role play” and would text or email him inappropriate photographs.
Barker had previously pleaded guilty to one count of sex abuse of a child, a second-degree felony, in January 2015. He admitted to touching the genitals of a 2-year-old girl over her underwear in September 2014.
According to court documents, Barker was sentenced on March 3, 2015, to serve one year in the Davis County Jail and to go to the NUCCC sex offender program as soon as a bed was available. He was also sentenced to serve three years probation with Adult Probation & Parole. Barker’s 2015 conviction also listed him on the state’s sex offender registry.
According to the probable cause statement filed with the court, the father of the child walked into a room and saw Barker touching the girl inappropriately. Barker left the home but later turned himself into Bountiful police.
You can reach reporter Loretta Park at lpark@standard.net or at 801-625-4252. Follow her on Twitter@LorettaPark SE or like her on Facebook.