Fort Bragg soldier who fled to the UK with family is convicted of desertion, child porn
He was once on the U.S. Army’s “Most Wanted” list.
Now the Fort Bragg soldier faces 11 years’ confinement and a dishonorable discharge, according to media outlets.
Spc. Robert L Barnett III, 35, was found guilty of producing child pornography and deserting his unit, WRAL reported. A military judge sentenced him during a court martial in October.
Barnett engaged in a series of “lewd” webcam exchanges with underage girls over a nine-month span in 2012, Fox8 reported.
The FBI caught him in 2013 during an Internet Crime Against Children sting, according to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.
He fled to the UK with his wife and kids shortly thereafter, Fox8 reported.
The U.S. Army listed Barnett as one of its Most Wanted Fugitives in 2015, according to an article published by Business Insider. At the time, he was 30-years-old and “wanted for indecent liberties with a child.”
He was at-large for six years and considered “armed and dangerous,” the Army Times reported.
But over a two-week span in May, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations said law enforcement began closing in. He “attempted to evade capture” but was ultimately arrested on May 31.
A slew of law enforcement agencies were responsible, the Fayetteville Observer reported — including U.S. Air Forces in Europe, the British Ministry of Defense and the London Metropolitan Police.
Bennett was immediately flown under a military police escort to Pope Army Airfield in Fayetteville near Fort Bragg after his arrest, according to the newspaper.
In addition to confinement and discharge, the Army Times reported he was demoted in rank to E-1 — one of the lowest ranks in the military.
This story was originally published November 5, 2019 at 7:06 PM.
