Plymouth man sent to prison for rape of a child

Daniel Barnett, 39, was sentenced to 5 to 10 years in prison as part of plea agreement

NORRISTOWN >> A Plymouth Township man was sent to state prison on charges he sexually assaulted a girl while she was in his company on numerous occasions and when she was between the ages of 5 and 10.

Daniel Barnett, 39, of the 3100 block of Plymouth Rock Road, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 5 to 10 years in a state correctional facility after he pleaded guilty to multiple charges of rape of a child in connection with incidents that occurred between 1997 and 2003 at locations in Plymouth and Whitemarsh townships.

Judge Thomas P. Rogers, who accepted a plea agreement in the matter, also ordered Barnett to complete three years’ probation following parole, meaning Barnett will be under court supervision for 13 years. The judge also ordered Barnett to undergo a psychosexual evaluation and to comply with all recommendations for treatment.

Barnett is prohibited from having contact with the victim.

Additionally, Barnett faces a lifetime requirement to report his address to state police in order to comply with Pennsylvania’s Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act.

Assistant District Attorney Karla Pisarcik, a member of the district attorney’s Family Protec

tion Unit, read a statement from the victim during Barnett’s sentencing hearing. The victim is now 29 years old.

“This was a late disclosure case and I’m really proud of her for coming forward all of these years later. He was held accountable. He had to admit to all of the facts on the record of what he did and this is an opportunity to close this chapter of the victim’s life for her to move on while he’s held accountable,” Pisarcik said.

The investigation began on March 24, 2022, when the victim, who is now 29 years old, appeared at the Plymouth Township Police Department and reported that Barnett raped her more than 100 times over the course of a 6-year period when she was a child, according to the criminal complaint filed by Plymouth Township Detective Eric Ponzek.

The victim alleged the sexual assaults began when she was 5 years old and occurred until she was 9 or 10, and when Barnett was 10 years older than the victim, according to court papers. Barnett, who was a friend of the victim’s brother, was 14 when the alleged abuse began and about 20 when it ended, court documents indicate.

“The sexual assaults continued until she was halfway through fifth-grade. The victim disclosed that the sexual assaults happened hundreds of times.” — Plymouth Township Detective Eric Ponzek

The assaults escalated from inappropriate touching of the girl’s private parts over her clothing to rape and other sexual acts, detectives alleged.

“The sexual assaults continued until she was halfway through fifthgrade,” Ponzek alleged in court documents. “The victim disclosed that the sexual assaults happened hundreds of times.”

Other charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, aggravated indecent assault of a child, indecent assault of a child and corruption of a minor were dismissed against Barnett as part of the plea agreement.

Defense lawyer Brendan Michael Campbell represented Barnett.