COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Texas man pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Columbus to attempted kidnapping and sexual exploitation of a minor he met through the video game Call of Duty.
Harrison Michael Barton, 38, of North Detroit, Texas, was arrested in February 2025 at John Glenn Columbus International Airport while attempting to fly to Florida with the 15-year-old victim. Under his plea agreement, Barton faces a recommended sentence of 25 to 30 years in prison.
Court documents show that Barton traveled by Greyhound bus from Texas to Ohio in February 2025 to meet the victim roughly one month after connecting with the teen through the mobile game.
At the time, Barton had an outstanding parole warrant from Texas stemming from a prior conviction for online solicitation of a minor, for which he had been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Barton admitted that the victim picked him up in Newcomerstown, Ohio. He also admitted to engaging in vaginal and oral sex with the minor and taking sexually explicit photographs before arriving at the airport, according to the court filing.