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Plano minister nabbed in sex sting

06:51 PM CDT on Friday, May 16, 2008

By STEVE STOLER / WFAA-TV

KBTX
Joe Barron waits in a police car following his arrest.


Video
Walt Zwirko reports
May 16, 2008

PLANO — A minister at Plano's Prestonwood Baptist Church has been arrested in a Central Texas sex sting.

Joe Barron, 52, was caught Thursday after chatting online for the past two weeks with someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl.

Bryan police said Barron arranged to meet with the girl Thursday afternoon in Bryan. He was met by undercover officers after driving to a prearranged location and arrested.

Barron is charged with online solicitation of sex with a minor, and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

KBTX
Police seized a Web cam, headset and other evidence from Barron's car.

Bryan police said they seized a Web cam, headset, and condoms from Barron's vehicle. A search warrant of his Plano residence yielded a desktop computer, two laptops, disks and memory cards.

The evidence will be turned over to the Texas A&M Police Department to review for possible evidence.

Barron is one of 20 pastors on Prestonwood's staff. He counsels married couples and heads mission trips.

"We are disturbed and saddened by the reports we have heard, and we are praying for the Barron family," said Prestonwood's Executive Pastor Mike Buster in a statement. "We are fully cooperating with the police in their investigation."

Barron had been scheduled to lead a mission to Bogota, Colombia in August according to the Prestonwood Web site.

Barron has adult children and is a grandfather. He has been working at Prestonwood Baptist Church for 18 months.

E-mail sstoler@wfaa.com