A former Metropolitan Police Department officer was sentenced to 27 years in prison for his role in the sex trafficking of young girls in Washington, D.C., and Maryland.
Linwood Barnhill, 59, pleaded guilty on September 17, 2025, to sex trafficking of a minor.
According to court records, Barnhill recruited a 15-year-old girl who had run away from home and told her she could make money dancing at a strip club in Prince George's County, Maryland. He told her she could make additional money by having sexual intercourse with men in private VIP rooms at the club.
Officials say Barnhill collected over $10,000 in profits from one of the victims he exploited.
Court records also show Barnhill paid another victim to recruit other minors, all under the age of 18, to work for him as commercial sex workers.
Those victims were invited to that victim's house, where Barnhill would pick them up and take them to a street in the District known for commercial sex activity, authorities say.
His iCloud account contained text messages from at least 10 other victims discussing work at "the club" and "VIP rooms," according to authorities.
Barnhill, who previously served as an officer in the seventh district, was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2014 after pleading guilty to two counts of pandering a minor and possession of child pornography in connection with recruiting two children for commercial sex.
"This former officer trafficked children on the streets of D.C. and at a strip club in Maryland. After serving a seven-year sentence, he resumed sex trafficking teen girls," U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves said. "Barnhill now has 27 years to reflect on his crimes, and the community won't have to worry about his trafficking activities again."
"While serving as a police officer over a decade ago, Barnhill preyed on underage girls. He took explicit photos of them and forced one victim to work as a prostitute," said FBI Special Agent in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI Washington Field Office's Criminal Division. "Upon his release from prison, he resumed trafficking minors for sex and forced his victims to recruit other vulnerable girls for him to exploit. Today's sentencing demonstrates the FBI will use every tool at our disposal to put habitual child predators behind bars where they belong."
Barnhill was also ordered to serve lifetime supervised release and must pay $10,000 in restitution.
