LOGAN — A 47-year-old Ogden man, previously sentenced to jail, for exposing himself in public at Utah State University and leaving notes with pornographic images on cars, is now headed to prison for violating his probation. Anderson Bectemba Barnes was sentenced to zero-to-five years at the Utah State Correctional Facility, after a judge expressed disgust with the ongoing behavior.
Barnes was sentenced July 7 in Logan’s 1st District Court. He previously accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to possession of a firearm by a restricted person, a third-degree felony; and four counts of lewdness, a class B misdemeanor.
In June 2022, Barnes was seen taping a note to a woman’s vehicle with a pornographic image inside. The incident happened in the area of Old Main.
Several weeks later, police said a driver was traveling on US-89 at the intersection of Champ Drive near the Family Life building, when they saw Barnes with his shorts down, exposing himself to traffic.
A day later, the same driver pulled into campus in the same area and parked in front of the Agriculture Sciences building. When they went to leave, they found a note with a pornographic image taped to their car. The note had similar verbiage used in the prior letter.
Barnes was originally sentenced to 180 days in jail, followed by 36 months of probation. He had claimed the incidents were accidental, saying he had a wardrobe malfunction, while changing out of his exercise clothes.
During Monday’s hearing, prosecutors explained how Barnes was recently arrested for similar lewdness crimes in California and Nevada. The arrests were in violation of the defendant’s probation.
Judge Spencer Walsh expressed anger with Barnes’ actions, saying he was done giving the defendant chances. He told the Ogden man, it was obvious he couldn’t do probation and was a danger to the public.
Barnes was given credit for 38 days he has recently spent in jail. It will be up to the Utah State Board of Pardons and Parole to determine when he is released from prison.