Police officer pleads guilty to sexually abusing 16-year-old girl, avoids prison

First published: 12:44 PDT, June 14, 2024

On July 13, 2022, a judge approved a settlement between the state Indiana and Officer Timothy Barber of South Bend police Department.

Barber, 39, was accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl twice in his patrol car, forcing her to touch his penis and masturbating in front of her while on the job, according to the criminal complaint in the case. He was on duty during each of the alleged incidents.

In exchange for his guilty plea to the charges of child enticement and abuse of office, prosecutors agreed to drop additional charges of child enticement and abuse of office, as well as charges of public nudity and public indecency.

Barber appeared in court on September 9, 2022 for his Conviction in this case, with prosecutors recommending that he serve a sentence of 66 months in prison: 48 months for child seduction and 18 months for misconduct.

The judge followed those guidelines, but at the end of the hearing, he stated that he would suspend all but two days of the misdemeanor sentence and the child enticement sentence. The judge then gave Barber credit for the two days he spent in jail after his arrest, and he was able to go home that day.

The judge’s ruling also only required Barber to register as a sex offender for 10 years and he can travel while on probation with the court’s permission, which he has received several times in recent years, according to court records.

The Washington Post recently reported on the story of Barber and other police officers who avoided prison time despite their crimes. In Barber’s case, his victim refuses to rest until she believes justice has been served.

And so, just a few months after I saw the man who sexually harassed that she gets away without a prison sentence, the Jane Doe in this case filed a Federal lawsuit against Barber and the city of South Bend.

Doe was working at a Chick-fil-A in the summer of 2021 when she met Barber, who showed interest in her, according to the federal complaint. He frequently visited the high school student at work and in July of that summer “began a systematic and methodical practice of grooming Jane Doe,” the federal complaint states.

In August 2021, Barber sexually abused Doe. This and other offenses are detailed in the lawsuit:

• “Barber, in full police uniform and in his police vehicle, picked up Jane Doe at Chick-fil-A and drove her to his remote location. There, Barber sexually assaulted Jane Doe in his police vehicle while wearing his police uniform. Barber was on duty at the time of this sexual assault.”
• “Barber drove his police vehicle through the drive-thru line, exposed his genitals in his police uniform, and masturbated in front of Jane Doe.”
• “Barber drove through the drive-thru line in his police vehicle and police uniform. Barber exposed his genitals to Jane Doe, grabbed her hand, and placed her hand on his exposed genitals.”
• “Barber, wearing his full police uniform, again told Jane Doe that he would drive her home from work. Again, wearing his full police uniform and in his police car, Barber picked Jane Doe up at Chick-fil-A and drove her to his remote location. There, Barber sexually assaulted Jane Doe in his police car while wearing his police uniform. Barber was on duty at the time of this sexual assault.”

Doe, who said she dreamed of becoming a police officer, says in the federal court lawsuit that she felt “intimidated” by Barber and was “forced to have sexual intercourse with him because he was a police officer.”

The lawsuit also alleges that other police officers were present and witnessed Barber’s contact with Doe, and that they even began referring to the teenager as his “girlfriend.”

In the criminal complaint, Doe further claims: “Barber told her he had ‘looked in the books’ and found that there was nothing wrong with having sex with the 16-year-old.”

Doe is requesting a jury trial and is seeking “punitive damages in an amount sufficient to punish the defendant’s misconduct and to deter such violations in the future,” the lawsuit states.

She also seeks damages for emotional and mental anguish and the violation of her constitutional rights. The suit also demands that Barber pay Doe’s legal costs and medical and psychiatric expenses for which she was not compensated in the criminal case.

Attorneys for Doe, Barber and the city of South Bend did not respond to requests for comment.

similar posts