WIDNES MOTHER JULIE BARNES FACES JAIL FOR CHILD ABUSE IMAGES ON FACEBOOK
In January 2023, a disturbing case emerged involving Julie Barnes, a 57-year-old woman from Widnes, Cheshire, who is now facing serious criminal charges related to the possession of indecent images of children.Barnes, known for her affinity for bondage and fetish content, operated a Facebook page under the alias 'Rosie Cheek,' which was reportedly used to share explicit material.
Her home was raided by police after authorities linked her to this social media account, which contained highly inappropriate images involving minors aged between five and 16.
During police investigations, Barnes claimed that the images found on her devices, which she admitted to downloading over a span of three years, were sent to her as part of a larger influx of sexual content from her followers.
She insisted that she had no direct involvement in creating or sharing the images herself, but her admission of possession has led to multiple charges.
Barnes now faces the possibility of a prison sentence of up to three years, as the severity of her offences is taken very seriously by the courts.
On her now-deleted fetish Facebook page, Barnes described herself as 'Big Blonde and Beautiful' and posted photographs of herself dressed in negligees.
Her personal Facebook profile still displays images related to bondage, including a photo of a cat-o-nine tails, accompanied by the caption: 'I want it..
beautiful.' Despite her online persona, Barnes confided in a fan that she was longing for someone to play with, saying, 'Am not getting it, no one to play with xx.' At Warrington magistrates court, Barnes pleaded guilty to five charges, which included possession of 47 indecent images of children.
The charges were categorized as follows: six images in the most serious Category A, eight in Category B, and 33 in Category C.
Category A images involve penetrative sexual acts, sexual acts with animals, or sadism.
Additionally, she admitted to possessing three prohibited images.
The offences are alleged to have occurred between March 1, 2018, and December 23, 2021.
Prosecutor Angela Blackmore highlighted that Barnes had no prior convictions and had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, which could influence her sentencing.
The investigation was initiated in June 2021 after Cheshire Police were alerted to the Facebook account 'Rosie Cheek 5268,' which contained uploaded indecent images of children.
A few days prior to the police raid, authorities had identified the account through Facebook activity.
An internet provider search confirmed Barnes' address in Widnes as the source of the account.
On December 23, at approximately 6:50 a.m., a search warrant was executed by the Online Child Abuse Investigation Team.
During the raid, two mobile phones were seized—one belonging to Barnes and another to one of her children.
Due to her poor health, police decided not to arrest her immediately but instead requested her attendance for an interview following the investigation's findings.
The devices contained images of children aged between five and 16, including six in Category A, eight in Category B, and 33 in Category C, with three images classified as prohibited.
Barnes was formally interviewed on September 9 of the previous year.
During the interview, she provided a prepared statement acknowledging her possession of the indecent images and the prohibited material.
When questioned about the specifics, she chose to remain silent.
The court was informed that Barnes had already been ordered to register as a sex offender, and prosecutors plan to seek a Sexual Harm Prevention Order against her.
She was granted bail under strict conditions, which included a ban on any unsupervised contact with children under 16, restrictions on living with or entering households where children under 16 reside, and a requirement to inform police of any devices capable of internet access.
All devices in her possession must be available for police inspection, including their internet search histories.
The case will be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court next month, where the full extent of her punishment will be determined based on her guilty plea and her lack of prior convictions.
