A Westerville man has been sentenced to a minimum of 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to 10 counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor.
According to the Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office, local authorities were alerted to suspicious activity on Richard Barthel's Dropbox and Google Photo accounts by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
“The despicable crime of child pornography is far-reaching,” Delaware County Prosecutor Melissa Schiffel said. “Unfortunately, today’s technology
makes it easy to download, share, and spread images of child victims all over the globe with the simple click of a button. Thanks to the diligent work of national partners committed to stopping this vile crime, our local law enforcement was able to pinpoint Barthel’s exact IP address and stop this perpetrator from doing further harm.”
Barthel was sentenced to an indefinite term of 12 to 16 years in prison, with 12 years being the minimum he must serve before being eligible to seek parole.
He is now classified as a Tier II sex offender and must register his address every 80 days for 25 years after his release from prison.
Barthel will also ordered to serve five years of post release control.
