Jaclyn Barnett and Daniel Wright (Photos courtesy of Baxter County Sheriff’s Office)
In 2024, two adults were charged with permitting the abuse of a minor, false imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a minor. It was alleged that they had kept a 15-year-old male locked in a dark bathroom for long periods naked and unfed.
He was reported not to have had a bedroom in the apartment, to have slept on a pallet in the bathroom and only to have eaten on the days he went to school.
The boy told police that he slept naked because he had once stuffed clothing into a vent to stop cold air from coming into the room. According to investigative records, the lack of clothing appeared to be a punishment for clogging the vent.
During the investigation that led to the arrest of 40-year-old Daniel Wright and 42-year-old Jaclyn Barnett, it was discovered that 29 reports had been made to the Child Abuse Hotline that is managed by the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) regarding the teen’s living conditions but nothing was apparently done about any of them.
While the victim referred to Barnett as his mother and Wright as his stepfather. Court records show Bartlett is the teen’s paternal aunt and the victim’s legal guardian. At the time of their arrest, Wright and Barnett were not married but did live together.
Click here for the details on their court appearance in November.
INVESTIGATION DONE, REPORT COMING
In a meeting several months ago with the head of (DHS) and the agency’s chief counsel, 14th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney David Ethredge requested that DHS investigate the matter and determine how all of the reports of alleged child abuse could have stacked up without action being taken to remove the young man from the terrible conditions that were uncovered when a police investigation was prompted.
A spokesman for DHS told KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot News on Wednesday that the investigation into the reports made to the Child Abuse Hotline had been completed and a written report based on those findings is being written.
According to court documents and investigative records, all of the reports were apparently closed when the incidents were deemed unsubstantiated.
Ethredge said at the time of the meeting that Kristi Putman, DHS head, admitted that the agency had not met its responsibilities to the teen.
At the time of the meeting, Ethredge said that the DHS head “was very forthright in saying the ball was dropped and that a review of the entire case would be done.” The review was expected to cover each of the 29 reports called into the Child Abuse Hotline.
Others involved in investigating the case have all said that the system totally failed the teen.
Putman said her agency would determine where failures occurred so they would not be repeated in the future.
The hotline reports dealt with such matters as maltreatment, inadequate supervision, failure to provide food and other essential needs, extreme or repeated cruelty and failure to protect. The reports were said to have come from mandated reporters and anonymous sources. Mandated reporters are those required by law to report instances of child abuse including teachers, social workers, health care professionals, law enforcement officers and coaches.
In a statement provided by DHS to KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot News on Wednesday, the agency said “child welfare investigations are sensitive and often complex, and we are committed to ensuring that the report to be provided to the prosecutor’s office will give a complete overview of the circumstances that we evaluated” in reviewing the case. The spokesman said DHS takes “reports of child abuse and neglect very seriously, and we fully investigate and respond to complaints accepted by the Child Abuse Hotline.”
One aspect of the report on the 15-year-old that Ethredge wanted looked into was who made the determination the 29 complaints were all without substance. It is assumed the report will answer one of the big questions in the case: Were any of the complaints accepted by the hotline and referred to DHS investigators and, if not, why not?
At one point, Ethredge said that if information in the forthcoming DHS investigative report rose to a level where criminal charges could be considered, he would ask the Arkansas State Police to enter the case.
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