Sheriff arrest warrants: York man used MeWe social media app to share child porn
A York man has been arrested and charged with possessing and sharing child porn videos and pictures of children as young as age 3, officials said.
John Ross Barnes, 34, of Stafford Drive, faces two counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and eight counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, according to arrest warrants obtained by The Herald.
York County Sheriff’s Office deputies charged Barnes after the videos and photos were found on his cellphone, according to the warrants.
Barnes is accused of using the MeWe social media app to share two of the videos on the Internet, the warrants state. The videos showed children engaged in sexual activity, according to the warrants.
An investigation was launched in early June after Barnes allegedly used wireless Internet to upload illegal material to the social media platform, according to a sheriff’s office incident report.
MeWe spokesman David Westreich told The Herald Tuesday the company reported the incident immediately to law enforcement when it was found earlier this month.
“This person was banned and removed from MeWe and our team reported him to the authorities. MeWe’s Terms of Service is strict and clear: illegal activity and pornography are prohibited, and our Trust and Safety Team works hard every day to remove it.
The MeWe team is vigilant about this issue, and we have partnered with IWF (Internet Watch Foundation), Sift Science, and Arkose Labs, in order to stop known bad actors at the door and find them if they’ve gotten inside.”
Second-degree sexual exploitation of minors involves the sharing of illegal pornography involving children, South Carolina law shows. Third-degree sexual exploitation is related to possession of the illegal videos and pictures, state law shows.
Each charge carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison for conviction.
The investigation is part of the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children task force, officials said.
Barnes remains in the York County jail under a $50,000 bond, records show.
This story was originally published June 22, 2020 at 12:56 PM.
