Man, woman indicted in sale of child for sex

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Federal prosecutors on Monday unsealed an indictment against a man and woman accused of training the woman’s child to be a dominatrix, selling her services and photographing some of the acts.

U.S. Attorney John Wood said the case is the first in which a parent of the victim has been charged with the commercial sex trafficking of his or her own minor child.

Todd B. Barkau, 35, of New York, and the 44-year-old mother were charged in the seven-count indictment. Both used to live in Blue Springs, Mo., in the same household.

From Jan. 1, 2002, until Feb. 20, 2005, Barkau created a venture to entice the minor to engage in commercial sex acts, according to the indictment.

“The court filings allege that Barkau obtained control of a 12-year-old girl and he groomed, trained and forced her to become a sexual dominatrix,” Wood said at a news conference in Kansas City on Monday.

Barkau was arrested near the Niagara Falls area in New York and had an initial court appearance on Saturday in Buffalo, N.Y., Wood said.