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Volleyball coach pleads guilty to child porn, assault of victims

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Published  December 31, 2024 4:36pm CST
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 9

The Brief

    • Dorian Barrs has pleaded guilty to two counts of producing child pornography, after charges alleged 18 victims came forward saying he had sexually assaulted them.
    • Charges say Barrs would pursue victims, aged between 14 and 17 years old, under the guise of his role as a mentor and coach.
    • As part of the plea agreement, federal guidelines call for a prison term of 60 years, with a minimum sentence of no less than 15.

SHERBURNE CO., Minn. (FOX 9) - A former Twin Cities volleyball coach has admitted to sexually assaulting more than a dozen victims – ranging in age from 14 to 17 years old – while he was their coach.

Volleyball coach charged

What we know: Dorian Christopher Barrs, 32, of Minnetonka, has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to two counts of producing child pornography.

The plea agreement lists 18 victims, with at least half of them being targeted while he was their coach at either Maple Grove High School, the Minnesota Select or Minnesota Crossfire club teams in the Twin Cities.

Plea agreement

Dig deeper: As part of the plea agreement, federal guidelines call for a prison term of 60 years, with a minimum sentence of no less than 15 years.

According to the deal, prosecutors have agreed to not seek a sentence longer than 35 years, while Barr's defense team has indicated it won’t push for a sentence shorter than 20 years.

Allegations

Background: Barrs worked as a volleyball coach from 2020 through early 2024, but an indictment alleges that incidents involving minors took place for nearly a decade prior. 

According to the indictment, Barrs would use social media and text messages to talk with victims, who he would coerce into sending sexually explicit images and videos. 

The plea agreement noted that Barrs "often assumed the identity and SnapChat account of a minor victim ... in order to attempt to and knowingly employ, use, persuade, induce, entice and coerce minor victims ... into creating and sending him images and videos of themselves engaged in sexually explicit conduct." He then used that material to pursue still more victims.

A law enforcement search of SnapChat showed Barrs was in relationships with three women, ages 29, 20 and a 16-year-old volleyball player he coached at Maple Grove High School.

Charges also allege he would persuade and coerce minor victims into engaging in sexual activity with him. In some cases, he allegedly recorded the encounters.

The Source: A plea agreement signed by Dorian Barrs on Dec. 30, 2024.

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