STEWART BARNETT AND HIS PREDATORY CRIMES IN GLOUCESTER
A dedicated team within the police force focused on protecting children successfully contributed to the apprehension and sentencing of a man who engaged in disturbing online grooming activities.Stewart Barnett, a 42-year-old resident of Longlevens in Gloucester, was responsible for luring a 12-year-old girl into a web of exploitation through various social media platforms and text messaging.
Barnett exploited his victim by masquerading as a 19-year-old, engaging her in communications over several months during the previous year.
His messages contained inappropriate and sexual content, deliberately aimed at coercing the young girl into performing sexual acts on herself.
Not only did he pressure her into these acts, but he also insisted that she record videos of herself and send them to him.
The grooming extended further as Barnett also dispatched to the girl explicit images and videos of himself engaging in masturbatory acts, further demonstrating his manipulative and exploitative behavior.
The authorities were alerted to Barnett’s sinister activities, leading to his immediate arrest and subsequent charges.
He was subsequently charged with multiple offenses, including two counts of causing or inciting a child under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity involving penetration, as well as one count of causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity without penetration.
During proceedings at Gloucester Crown Court on May 25, Barnett admitted to additional crimes involving the creation and possession of indecent images of the young victim.
Specifically, he acknowledged producing twenty images and four videos categorized as category A, which denotes the most severe type of indecent images.
He also conceded to possessing twenty-eight images and twenty-nine videos in category B, along with a substantial number of images—190—and nine videos in the less severe category C.
On June 26, Barnett was sentenced to a substantial prison term of six years and six months.
The court also imposed a series of strict protective orders: a restraining order lasting ten years, a sexual harm prevention order for fifteen years, and a lifelong registration on the Sex Offenders' Register.
In addressing the court, police officers highlighted the gravity of Barnett’s actions.
Detective Constable Caroline George emphasized his predatory behavior, noting, 'Barnett preyed upon this child and sent her vile messages, which included trying to make her feel guilty when she didn’t want to send him certain videos.
He displayed clear grooming behavior by telling the victim that he loved her and wanted to meet her, while knowing he was speaking to, and exploiting, a child.' She expressed admiration for the victim's courage in speaking out and working closely with investigators.
Detective Inspector Simon Goodenough also spoke on the case, affirming the force’s commitment to combating these heinous crimes.
He said, 'We have a dedicated team which investigates these type of abhorrent offences and we’ll do everything we can in order to prosecute those who cause harm to children.
The victim in this case has been extremely brave for speaking about Barnett’s horrid actions and I would too like to thank her and her family for working with us.' Following the sentencing, the victim’s mother shared her relief and gratitude.
She stated, 'We feel relieved that justice has been served and that now we hope we can rebuild our lives moving forward.
We would like to extend our grateful thanks for the amazing support we received from TDC Caroline George throughout every stage of this investigation.
We also want to thank our child exploitation social worker and Gloucestershire Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre for their hard work and the support which they have given our daughter.'
