The dark web is something that most internet-users have heard of, but which only some people have ever used. This is the clandestine part of the internet, a place where some venture to satisfy depraved urges and commit serious sex crimes. Although its danger to wider society is often exaggerated, it is a place where people can stay off the grid and obtain almost anything: drugs, weapons, hitmen and also pornography of the most violent and disturbing nature. For instance, last week an alleged sex offender who was attempting to exploit the dark web in order to prey upon minors was arrested by police.
Alexander Nathan Barter, a 21-year-old man who hails from Shelby County, Texas, was arrested by police officers after a sting operation revealed his necrophiliac and pedophilic tendencies. Barter is said to have made a post on the dark web in which he asked if anyone was willing to let him eat a young girl and then have sex with the corpse. An undercover agent working for the Texas Department of Public Safety. posed as a man who was willing to sell his own daughter as a sex slave, tricking Barter into admitting his extreme fetishes, as well as his plan to murder and cannibalise a child.
Barter allegedly conspired with the undercover agent to go on a "father and daughter" hiking trip, where he planned to meet with them at a hotel where he would sexually assault, kill, and eat the non-existent young girl. Barter allegedly told his 'accomplice' to buy a burner phone and fresh clothes to wear after the killing and asked him to pretend that his daughter had run away from home again.
The police traced Barter by subpoenaing subscriber information and IP logs and contacting his internet service provider. Barter planned to meet with the agent at the hotel on October 18, but was instead accosted by police en route just outside his home. He was carrying a plastic trash bag and a knife on his person, - items which Barter had agreed to bring with him when interacting with the undercover agent.
Commenting on the incident, Shelby County District Attorney Stephen Shires stated:
“Parents should always be vigilant and aware of what their children are doing on the internet. The dark web, and the individuals that operate there, pose a continued and increasing threat to the safety of our children. Jurisdiction, geography, and distance serve as a minimal, if any, impediment to some very terrible activities. In this matter, Law Enforcement mounted an effective and integrated effort to deal with this situation."
Barter later admitted that he was the man who had made the blog post while under interrogation, and now faces several charges related to his arrest, including criminal solicitation, attempted capital murder, conspiracy to commit capital murder, and attempted sexual performance of a child.
