BAIRDSTOWN – The case of village Mayor Chris Barringer, accused of texting explicit images to two teenage
boys, is receiving national attention.
The incident was featured Tuesday night during the "Prime News" program on CNN’s Headline News
channel, hosted by Vinnie Politan.
According to the Wood County Sheriff’s Office and information reported during the show, Barringer
reportedly sent an image of male genitalia with what appeared to be a smiley face on it to a 13-year-old
boy Dec. 6, which was discovered on his cell phone by his stepmother and reported to the Sheriff’s
Office the next day. He also reportedly sent the image to a 16-year-old around the same time. Barringer
reportedly admitted to the offenses while being interviewed by the Sheriff’s Office.
On the program, Det. Sgt. Terry James of the Sheriff’s Office said that Barringer said he forwarded the
images because he thought they were funny and now understands they are not. He is facing two counts of
disseminating matter harmful to a juvenile, a misdemeanor, and pleaded not guilty Monday through his
attorney in Bowling Green Municipal Court. The charges could carry six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

The 13-year-old’s stepmother was interviewed on the program and called the incident
"unbelievable." She said that she wants to see Barringer step down from his post or be forced
out of office, and said she would do everything in her power to see that it happened.
Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn, also interviewed on the program, said that his office would take the
investigation "as far as we can" and applauded the parents of the two boys involved for
knowing that the images were on their children’s cell phones.
Responding to a statement on the show from Politan and Nicole Deborde, a former sex-crimes prosecutor,
Wasylyshyn said that a search warrant was obtained for Barringer’s phone, but Bairdstown, being a
village of about 300 people, does not have village-owned computers or cell phones that could be searched
to see if the images were stored on them.
Wasylyshyn, who was interviewed from Washington, D.C., where he was attending a two-day meeting as part
of a requirement for a $5.4 million grant received by the Wood County Educational Service Center, said
afterward that the case has received local media attention, though not as much as he thought it would at
the time, but his office has also received calls from national media outlets – CNN and also Fox News,
which asked him a few questions about the case. He said the he felt CNN was interested in the story
because the case involved an elected official.
Wasylyshyn said he encourages parents to check the telephone and online activities of their juvenile
children, which they have the right to do.
"I strongly encourage all parents to check texts, check e-mail, check websites," he said.