A 60-year-old man has been sentenced for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl at park in Pierce County three years ago.
Michael Gary Barber pleaded guilty Feb. 16 to first-degree attempted kidnapping and second-degree child molestation. He was sentenced Friday in Pierce County Superior Court to 52 months in prison and is required to register as a sex offender, court records show.
Barber approached the girl on Aug. 22, 2021 at a park and sat next to her on a bench. Barber lived near the victim, but he was a stranger to her. Barber began asking vulgar questions of the girl about her boyfriend and then put his hands down her pants until two children walked by, charging documents show.
Barber grabbed the girl's wrist, pulled her into a wooden area behind the park and continued to sexually assault her. When he was standing behind her, the girl was able to run home, documents show.
The girl's mother called police and told them that her daughter was raped. Barber was identified as the suspect through Ring camera footage and the girl's description of the assailant. The Ring camera footage showed Barber at their house asking about doing yard work earlier that day, prosecutors wrote.
When police went to Barber's house, he and his wife refused to leave, and SWAT was called on to the scene. Barber came out several times to flip off police and tell them to leave before he retreated back inside, according to the charging papers.
Police used an explosive device directed at the garage door in an attempt to distract Barber so he would walk out. The plan worked, and Barber walked out, prosecutors wrote. Officers tackled and arrested him.
In the sentencing memorandum, Barber's attorney wrote that the defense acknowledged the victim's experience and harm from the incident. The defense asked the Court to sentence Barber to 48 months in prison, citing the decision to enter a guilty plea.
Barber's attorney wrote that the victim was supportive of Barber's decision to enter a guilty plea, which would reduce his charges, instead of facing a trial, documents show.
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