Special to The News

BEAUMONT, Texas — A 21-year-old Joaquin man has been arrested on child exploitation charges in the Eastern District of Texas, U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown said Friday.

Alexander Nathan Barter appeared Friday in Beaumont before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Giblin for an initial appearance. Barter had been arrested Oct. 19 in Joaquin.

Barter was charged in a federal complaint with attempted coercion and enticement and will return to court on Tuesday for detention and preliminary hearings.

This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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 to identify and rescue victims.

If convicted, Barter faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Homeland Security Investigations in Lufkin, Beaumont, and Houston, Texas; Homeland Security Investigations Cocoa Beach, Florida, Child Exploitation Task Force; Brevard County Sheriff’s Office (Florida); Nacogdoches Police Department; Texas Department of Public Safety; Customs and Border Protection Air Units; and Shelby County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Miller is the prosecutor.