Brad Petrishen, Worcester Telegram & Gazette
WORCESTER — A Paxton man was held without bail in federal court Thursday after the FBI arrested him Friday on allegations of reproducing child pornography.
Barry Ward was arrested Friday after an investigation that started in Michigan led agents to his door, court records show.
According to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Worcester by FBI Special Agent Lauren Vatier, agents raided Ward’s home Friday after obtaining a search warrant.
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Vatier, a member of the Worcester branch of an FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, alleged that Ward reproduced child pornography in connection with an online message board for pedophiles.
The nature of the reproduction was unclear from the affidavit, which is heavily redacted.
The unredacted portion of the document indicates that agents trained their sights on Ward in December following the arrest of a Michigan man who moderated a message board for people with a “sexual interest in children.”
Agents arrested the Michigan man, Michael Bledsoe, after an agent posed as a member of the group, which was hosted on the phone messaging app Kik.
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A search of Bledsoe’s phone, Vatier said, revealed that Bledsoe was a moderator for the group and assisted with a “verification” process to give prospective members access.
Ward was among the users who Bledsoe verified, Vatier wrote, describing how Bledsoe required two pictures: a “live pic,” and another picture whose nature was redacted from the affidavit.
Vatier alleged that Ward sent Bledsoe the information requested, including a selfie that was included with court documents, just days before Bledsoe’s arrest.
Vatier further alleged that the screen name associated with Ward communicated on Kik with an undercover FBI agent in May 2024, and allegedly “stated he had a ‘private group’ with other users who discussed the sexual abuse and exploitation of children.”
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Vatier said when agents raided Ward’s home, he agreed to speak with them in a recorded conversation.
Descriptions of the conversation were redacted from court records.
Ward was led into U.S. District Court in Worcester Thursday in handcuffs and prison garb; he agreed to be held without bail following a brief hearing. His exact age was not list; court records show he was born in 1992.
A lawyer appointed to represent Ward, Tom G. Vukmirovits, told U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy that he was not yet ready to make a presentation regarding proposed conditions of release.
Hennessy ordered Ward detained without prejudice, meaning he can come back at any time to petition for release.
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Vukmirovits declined to comment on Ward’s behalf following the hearing, noting that he had just been assigned to the case.
Ward, on a Facebook page the FBI agent alluded to in the affidavit, lists himself as a truck driver.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Paxton man held after FBI charges him with reproducing child porn
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