WETUMPKA − A Montgomery County man has pleaded guilty to rape in an Elmore County case where the victim was a child under the age of 6, prosecutors said.
Steven Barnes, 35, was arrested and charged with rape in April 2019, said District Attorney CJ Robinson. He was set for a jury trial to begin May 11 in Circuit Judge Patrick Pinkston’s Elmore County courtroom, records show.
On the first day of jury selection, Barnes entered the guilty plea with a recommended sentence from the state of 40 years, Robinson said. Pinkston is set to sentence Barnes May 26, records show.
More: Man shot and killed in Montgomery; police seek public’s help
“This was a difficult decision for us to enter into this plea agreement for Barnes to serve 40 years,” Robinson said. “Life without parole would have been too good for what he did, but after extensive communications with the victim’s family and Millbrook PD, together we made the decision to protect her from ever having to enter the same room with her offender again.”
The girl was found by her mother with injuries and transported from Prattville Baptist Hospital to Children’s Hospital of Birmingham, he said. She underwent surgery at children’s “due to severe sexual assault trauma,” Robinson said.
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com. To support his work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Man pleads guilty in rape of child under age of 6
