Ohio Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison on Child Sexual Exploitation Charge

NASHVILLE - Barron M. Poole, 50, of Ripley, Ohio, was sentenced today to 15 years in federal prison after having pled guilty to attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, announced Thomas J. Jaworski, Acting United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.

According to court documents, on February 2, 2023, a user with the profile of "Barron read bio," who was later identified as Barron M. Poole, contacted an FBI online covert employee ("OCE") on an online dating application that is frequented by minors and those who seek to exploit them. The OCE was conducting an online covert investigation utilizing a profile of an 18-year-old female, which contained a photo of a female's face. Above the photo was a status block, which contained the text, "hi im really 13." Poole messaged and texted with the OCE, who he believed to be a 13-year-old girl, asked her to send him nude photographs, sent her photos of nude adult females in the poses he wanted the OCE to recreate, and sent her photographs of his penis and abdomen which had distinctive tattoos. The communications continued for a week. When he was arrested at his home in Ohio, Poole admitted to using the online dating application, and admitted that "Barron read bio" was his profile with his photograph.

After serving his sentence, Poole will be on supervised release for 5 years.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Clarksville Resident Agency, Nashville Field Office, and assisted by the FBI's Cincinnati Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Monica R. Morrison prosecuted the case.

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