(KTLA) – A Texas man who has been described as a “disturbed predator” was recently sentenced to 40 years in prison after soliciting the “murder, necrophilia, and cannibalism” of a juvenile on the dark web, authorities said.
In addition to time in federal prison, a judge last Thursday also ordered 23-year-old Alexander Nathan Barter to submit to a lifetime of supervised release, according to a statement from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Barter reached an agreement with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to charges of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, and distribution of child pornography, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
The investigation began in October 2018, after Barter posted an ad on a dark web site, according to ICE. The ad read, “I’d like to try necrophilia and cannibalism, and see how it feels to take a life. If you’d be willing to let me kill you, are in the U.S. (preferably in the south) and can travel by car, contact me.”
An undercover special agent with ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) saw the posting and responded, pretending to be the father of a 13-year-old girl.
Over a 10-day period, Barter exchanged messages with the undercover agent, repeatedly expressing interest in “killing, raping and eating the 13-year-old child,” according to the ICE release.
Barter gave instructions to the undercover agent on how to travel from Florida to Shelby County, Texas, including what to tell the girl and how to conceal evidence, officials said.
The defendant went to the designated meeting site in Joaquin on Oct. 19, 2018, and took a knife, trash bag, cellphone and tablet with him, the release stated. He was arrested that day.
“In my 23-year-career in law enforcement, this is among the most morally depraved and appalling criminal conspiracies that I have come across,” Mark Dawson, special agent in charge of HSI Houston, stated in the release. “Without the quick and decisive actions of our special agents from Cocoa Beach and Beaumont, this disturbed predator would still be out there looking for potential victims to carry out his sick and demented fantasies.”
A number of agencies investigated the case, including ICE HSI Beaumont, the Florida Child Exploitation Task Force, the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, the Nacogdoches Police Department in Texas and Texas Department of Public Safety.