A Fayette County jury on May 20 found a Newnan woman guilty of child molestation, having been convicted of having sexual intercourse with a minor who had been in her care. The woman was sentenced to 20 years.
District Attorney Marie Broder said a Fayette County jury on May 20, after a week-long trial, found Brittany Shyanne Barber, a 27-year-old female from Newnan, guilty of child molestation. Superior Court Judge Fletcher Sams sentenced Barber to a total of 20 years, with 18 years to serve in prison followed by two years of probation, Broder said.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Warren Sellers.
“Barber was convicted of having sexual intercourse with a minor victim. The victim did testify at trial,” said Broder. “The evidence at trial showed that the defendant lived with the victim’s father who allowed Barber to function as the child’s step mother while he was away at work. “The defendant took advantage of this trust to begin and continue an inappropriate relationship with the child. When the victim tried to avoid her, the defendant would make sure to cause his father to unjustifiably discipline the child,” said Broder.
Chief ADA Sellers said of the trial, “The courage of the victim in reliving the painful details of the abuse through his testimony and the skillful investigative work of Det. Stephen Stoyell of the Peachtree City Police Department resulted in the successful prosecution of the case.”
At sentencing, Judge Sams noted that the defendant’s actions had damaged the victim to such an extent that it would likely take years of counseling to unravel the resulting internal conflict, Broder noted.
“I’m proud of my team who fought so hard to ensure that this defendant will never harm another child. My office will never tolerate these crimes and will continue to fight hard to protect the children of this circuit,” Broder emphasized.
