Woman sues Bristol family after decade of sex assaults
Impregnated when she was 13, documents show
BRISTOL — The woman who police say was repeatedly sexually assaulted as a child while in a family’s care is suing them, including the man who impregnated her when she was 13 years old, court documents show.
The lawsuit, filed July 11, 2023 in state Superior Court in New Britain, names as defendants Roger Barriault, his wife, Darlene Barriault, and his mother-in-law, Dawn Barkley. All three lived with the girl when she was abused, the lawsuit states.
Bristol police arrested Roger Barriault, 63, on Jan. 26 and charged him with one count of first-degree sexual assault and one count of risk of injury to a minor. He is next due in criminal court in New Britain Feb. 14.
The victim, now an adult, told police Barriault sexually assaulted her more than 3,000 times between 2004 and 2015, according to the warrant for his arrest. His wife and mother-in-law have not been arrested.
The victim seeks monetary damages for the “severe physical and mental injuries she suffered as a result of defendant Roger Barriault’s repeated, brutal and pervasive acts of sexual assault, sexual exploitation, assault and battery of her over a period of nearly twelve years, beginning when plaintiff Jane Doe was approximately 8 years old,” the lawsuit states.
In addition to anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, the plaintiff suffered physical injuries that include those associated with carrying and delivering a baby at age 13, the lawsuit said.
Barriault’s wife, Darlene Barriault, was “complicit in the depravity and failed, and/or refused, to report, prevent, intervene or stop” the abuse, the suit says. Darlene Barriault’s mother, Dawn Barkley, who lived in and owned the house where the girl was “raped thousands of times,” also did nothing to stop the activity, the suit said.
The lawyer representing the Barriaults and Dawn Barkley could not be reached for comment on Thursday, but court paperwork shows the defendants have denied the sexual assault allegations.
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff was born in the mid-1990s, and when she was between 6 months and 2 years old, she was placed into foster care by the state Department of Children and Families.
The lawsuit said she was placed into the care of a Bristol foster parent who introduced her to the Barriaults, the lawsuit said. Roger Barriault “forcibly raped Plaintiff for the first time when she was about 8 or 9 years old” in the foster parent’s home, the suit said.
Sexual abuse also happened at the Barriaults’ home and at Dawn Barkley’s house, the lawsuit said.
In 2005, the suit said, the foster parent moved out of state and left the plaintiff with the Barriaults. The plaintiff remained in the care of the Barriaults and Dawn Barkley for the next eight years, and “throughout this entire period, she was raped nearly daily by Roger Barriault,” the lawsuit stated.
After she gave birth, the Barriaults frequently threatened that the plaintiff would lose the child if she were to try to leave or report the abuse, the suit said.
Although DCF is not named as a defendant, the lawsuit takes aim at the child welfare agency, claiming it knew Barriault was “a danger to young girls.”
The agency investigated the Barriaults “numerous times in connection with their care of a number of minors, including Plaintiff,” according to the lawsuit.
When the girl was 12 years old and four months pregnant with Barriault’s child, “DCF recommended, and the Bristol Probate Court approved, the girl’s return to Barriault’s care,” according to the suit.
“We can confirm we jointly investigated these allegations with law enforcement,” DCF spokesperson Peter Yazbak said.
Because of the ongoing criminal investigation, he was unable to elaborate, he said Thursday.
He did add that DCF did not place the girl into the home of Roger Barriault. The Barriaults never were licensed to care for her, nor did they act in the capacity as her foster parents, Yazbak said.
“The family received guardianship of the victim via the Probate Court as a child,” he said.
Generally speaking, if a probate court asks for it, DCF will provide a report about the proposed guardian’s ability to meet the child’s needs, Yazbak said.
The report also describes the relationship between the child and proposed guardian, the child’s wishes and “whether the action is in the best interest of the child,” he said.