Former Kinston City Councilman Will Barker pled guilty to a child pornography charge Monday and will serve at least five years in prison — and up to 20 years.
In a hearing in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Barker pled to one count of receipt of child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Senior U.S. District Judge James C. Fox administered the verdict.
Barker had been charged with a dozen counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, which according to the law means possession of “material that contains a visual representation of a minor engaging in sexual activity.”
By pleading to the federal charge, Barker admits his guilt in the use of interstate commerce to procure sexually-explicit images of minors.
A statement from the U.S. Department of Justice said a laptop seized at Barker’s home during a Nov. 29, 2012 search turned up “more than 4,000 images and 100 videos of child pornography.”
Barker faces a sentence of between five and 20 years in federal prison, up to a $250,000 fine and lifetime of supervised release. Supervised release, unlike probation, is meant to be used in addition to prison time, instead of in lieu of it.
Kinston Mayor B.J. Murphy hadn’t yet learned of the plea when contacted late Monday afternoon.
“I really don’t have much to say,” Murphy said. “I wish he and his family the best, and pray for all those involved in the case.”
Kinston City Manager Tony Sears declined to comment on the case, while a message left for Mayor Pro-Tem Joe Tyson was not returned as of press time.
A message left for Barker was also not returned as of press time.
U.S. Attorney Ethan A. Ontjes led the prosecution.
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 or wes.wolfe@kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.
Original report:
Former Kinston City Councilman Will Barker has pled guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography. He will serve at least five years and up to 20 years in prison for his crime; he’ll also pay a fine of up to $250,000.
Barker made the plea before U.S. District Judge James C. Fox today in Wilmington.
Pick up a copy of Tuesday’s Free Press and check back here later tonight for more details.