The hacker group Anonymous has made the rape case of a Missouri man public, due to the now-19 year old getting one misdemeanor charge for raping a minor back in 2012.
Matthew Barnett was 17 when he raped a 14-year-old girl at a party. On Thursday, he was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, which could've held up to one year in jail, and was arraigned at the Nodaway County Courthouse in Maryville, Missouri.
According to Reuters, the case, and another case against another 17-year-old boy for allegedly recording the rape on his cell phone, was previously filed as a felonies by Nodaway County Prosecutor Bob Rice. However, it was dropped due to the lack of witnesses and cooperation from the alleged rape victim and her mother.
After it was dropped by a local prosecutor, it gained widespread attention and was picked back up in the fall.
Barnett, who claimed their sexual encounter was consensual, was sentenced to two years of probation and a four-month suspended jail term, The AP reports. He pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal