CARTHAGE, Mo. – A Carthage man is behind bars, arrested by Federal Marshals earlier this week and the Criminal Complaint unsealed in the US District Court of Western Missouri reveals charges and details of the investigation.

Shane Barton, 55, is facing charges of Receiving and Distributing Child Pornography. Images were found on his work computers and cell phones dating back to as early as August of 2017 and as recent as the day it was discovered by his employer on January 5, 2022.

The IT department of H.E. Williams, 831 W Fairview, Carthage, Missouri, discovered a virus on Barton’s computer that was connected to the network on January 5, 2022. Upon closer examination the IT department believed they witnessed files that contained child pornography. Barton was immediately locked out of his computers on the network and the authorities were contacted.

Investigators arrived the following day to begin investigation.

The SWMo Cyber Crimes Task Force were granted a Federal Search Warrant on January 18, 2022. They conducted a preliminary forensic examination on Barton’s Apple iphone 13 Pro and his desktop computer.

“The examination identified approximately 10,000 images and approximately 100 video files of suspected child pornography. [Investigators] identified children as young as infants, being sexually assaulted by adults. The suspected child pornography depicted the graphic display of children engaged in sexual acts with other children, as well as adults engaged in various sex acts with children.” – Probable Cause Affidavit

On January 21, 2022, Barton resigned his position from H.E. Williams. He turned in his laptop. An old iphoneX was located in Barton’s office. Both devices are suspected of containing child pornography after initial examination by cyber detectives.

Barton is being held on no bond in the Greene County jail. 

Stay with KOAM News Now for the latest breaking news.  Click here to set our Joplin News First news tab as a bookmark on your phone now.

• MORE JOPLIN NEWS FIRST…
• Parole absconder wanted on outstanding warrants
• Joplin News First on the road again, conditions will deteriorate Thursday
• Concrete survival bunker for sale hidden in the Ozarks
• World War II era Butterfly Bomb found in a Seneca, Mo. closet
• DWI crash, man suffers serious injuries rolling vehicle at Belle Center curve 
• Three vehicles collide and two end on their side, west of Neosho, Mo.
• Pair charged with Felony Drug Trafficking after drug raid
• Pickup overturned and burned after being struck by car
• No. 1 box office movie in America, B&B Theaters Neosho special showing with writer, actor and comedian, Preston Lacy
• Carport and cars burn at Mayflower Apartments in historic Murphysburg Neighborhood
• Sinkhole forms in Joplin’s Landreth Park
• Old Route 66 state line now marked, it’s the perfect photo op for thousands of travelers
• “Extremely large” amount of Fentanyl seized in two Joplin drug raids
• Kenny Chesney, Here and Now Tour this summer at Walmart AMP
• I-49 wrong-way crash kills two, Missouri State Highway Patrol investigate