Daniel Barnett, 38, of Plymouth Township.
A Montgomery County man is facing dozens of felony sex abuse charges after a woman recently came forward alleging he had raped her more than 100 times over a six year period.
Daniel Barnett, 38, of Plymouth Township, has been charged with 20 felony counts of Rape of Child along with felony counts of Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse with a Child, Aggravated Indecent Assault and related offenses, in connection with the investigation. He’s currently in custody at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in lieu of $1 million cash bail.
Barnett was friends with the victim’s brother, according to investigators.
The victim, who is now 29 years old, told police the sexual assaults allegedly began when she was five years old and continued until she was nine or 10 years old, spanning the period of 1997 through 2003. Barnett, who is roughly 10 years older than the victim, reportedly began the assaults by inappropriately touching the victim’s private parts over her clothing and then progressed to rape and other types of sexual assaults, according to charging documents.
While the charges are related to the one victim who came forward, investigators believe there may be other victims out there.
“This defendant was repeatedly sexually assaulting a very young girl for years,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele. “We are continuing to investigate, and anyone with information about this assault or any other criminal behavior related to this defendant is asked to call Plymouth Township Police at 610-279-1901.”
Court records indicate that Barnett was convicted of possessing child pornography in October 2014, and he was subsequently sentenced to county jail and probation, along with a requirement to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law for 10 years. Barnett would reoffend in March 2016 and April 2019 while on probation, receiving additional time in county jail and longer probationary periods, according to court records.
Should Barnett be bailed out while awaiting court proceedings on the new charges, he would face the additional conditions of refraining from contact with the victim, children and “disabled adults” — the latter being a uniquely specific restriction. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for April 26 at 2 p.m. in front of District Judge Maurice Saylor.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause.
See also:
Man Accused of Shooting, Killing Pregnant Woman at Montco Gas Station Now in Custody
Montco Catholic School Principal Accused of Stealing More Than $25,000 from School
Montco Sex Offender Arrested Again on Child Porn Charges
Man Charged with Attempted Murder After Wednesday Morning Shoot Out with Police in Montco
