Birch Bay man arrested for possessing, dealing child sexual abuse material

A 33-year-old Birch Bay man was arrested on probable cause of possessing and dealing child sexual abuse material.

Joshua Aaron Barber was booked into Whatcom County Jail on February 20 for three counts of possessing depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and three counts of dealing the content. He was released the next day after posting $3,000 cash bail, according to jail records.

Whatcom County Superior Court records show that, on July 28, 2024, the messaging app Kik reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that a user had uploaded child sexual abuse material three times on July 24, 2024. The Seattle Police Department assigned the case to a Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) detective on January 12. On January 24, Comcast returned a warrant for more information on the Kik account’s IP address, which provided Barber’s information.

The WCSO contacted Barber on February 20, and he confirmed his email address to the detective, which was the same as the one associated with the Kik account, according to court records. Court records state Barber also said he used Kik for “random chatting.”

When the WCSO detective asked Barber to explain why someone on his Kik account uploaded child sexual abuse material, he requested an attorney.

Barber was booked into jail without incident. As part of his release conditions, Barber is prohibited from having contact with minors.

Anonymous tips of child sexual abuse material can be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s tip line at cybertipline.com and to the FBI online at tips.fbi.gov.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has resources available for child sexual exploitation survivors and their families at bit.ly/4anORly. The center also operates a 24-hour hotline at 800/843-5678.