Houston County man pleads guilty to sexually abusing a minor. He’ll serve 25 years.
A man pleaded guilty on Monday to sexually abusing a minor and will serve 25 years in prison followed by life on probation, according to William Kendall, the district attorney for Houston County.
Austin Barber, 39, admitted to sexually abusing a 12-year-old during the COVID-19 pandemic, when everyone was in lockdown. As a result of his guilty plea, he “will be required to register as a sex offender when he is released from prison and will have to abide by sex offender conditions of probation for the remainder of his life,” Kendall said.
Barber repeatedly abused the minor up until the victim came forward to report the abuse, said Justin C. Duane, the assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case. He also said Barber was “an otherwise upstanding member of the community with no criminal history,” and that he used his position of authority to abuse the minor.
“Although we cannot undo what has been done, we can ... find solace in knowing a sexual predator is off the streets of Houston County,” said Kendall.
