Linwood Barnhill, a 59-year-old registered sex offender and former officer with the Metropolitan Police Department, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to sex trafficking a minor. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Court documents state that between April 2024 and April 2025, Barnhill recruited minor girls for commercial sex acts. He collected more than $10,000 in profits from one of the minors he exploited and used his victims to recruit additional minor girls for commercial sex.
Judge Jia M. Cobb has set sentencing for December 12, 2025. The charge of sex trafficking a minor carries a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison and can result in up to life imprisonment.
The FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force investigated the case, which is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Caroline Burrell.
“This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.”
