Two Baxter County residents charged with keeping a then 15-year-old male described as “low functioning” locked in a bathroom, naked and unfed for days pled guilty to the charges against them during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court/Criminal Division Monday.
Circuit Judge Andrew Bailey accepted the pleas and sentenced both 42-year-old Daniel Wright and 43-year-old Jaclyn Barnett to 20 years in prison. The prison time will be follow with 7 years suspended imposition of sentence.
Circuit Judge Andrew Bailey said after taking the pleas, “this is a sad day for our city and state.” He said the case had at least served to “launch a statewide effort to address the failures of the Department of Human Services.”
Wright and Barnett were scheduled to go on trial this week but opted to enter the guilty pleas.
Two panels of prospective jurors were originally to be at the courthouse today but the report date was moved to Tuesday when there were indications Wright and Barnett might enter pleas. The jury call would have remained in effect for Tuesday if no pleas were entered.
Earlier in the pre-trial period, it had also been expected that the pair would plead guilty to the charges but no plea was entered at that time and the case continued.
Wright and Barnett were initially facing a total of almost 300 charges. The charges include multiple counts of rape, sexual assault, false imprisonment, endangering the welfare of a minor, sexual indecency with a child, permitting child abuse and kidnapping.
The sexually related charges were only filed against Barnett. The victims are not publicly identified in the case record. In comments made during the sentencing on Monday, it became clear that the 15-year-old male and his younger half brother had been abused in one way or another. Deputy Prosecutor Chris Carter said DHS had failed to initially turn over information dealing with the younger half brother.
The couple is alleged to have restrained the 15-year-old victim so as to interfere substantially with his liberty with the purpose of inflicting physical injury upon him.
The initial charges were filed against the couple in 2024 followed by another wave of charges last year.
A large number of subpoenas were issued by both the state and defense for witnesses to appear during the trial.
STATEMENT FROM PROSECUTOR
Baxter County Prosecuting Attorney David Ethredge described the abuse as “horrific” and said the evidence established the defendants’ guilt “beyond question.”
“For years, these children were abused, manipulated, and exploited,” Ethredge told the court. “Rather than providing love, safety, and protection, these defendants chose greed and self-interest.”
Ethredge said prosecutors were fully prepared to take the case to trial but agreed to the plea arrangement in part to spare the victims from having to relive the abuse during a public courtroom proceeding.
“We should not re-victimize children who have already suffered so much simply to satisfy a desire for vengeance,” Ethredge said.
The prosecutor also sharply criticized the Arkansas Department of Human Services, saying the agency failed the children involved in the case.
“This case also exposed a profound failure within the system designed to protect vulnerable children in the State of Arkansas,” Ethredge said. “The Department of Human Services failed these young people.”
Ethredge praised the work of the Mountain Home Police Department, specifically Officer Tyler Pollite and Sgt. Mike Day, along with counselors, foster parents and others who assisted the victims during the investigation and recovery process.
VICTIM WAS EXPECTED TO TESTIFY
The now 16-year-old victim was expected to testify during the trial. He would have been allowed to be out of the direct line of sight of Wright and Barnett. The defense originally objected to the change but later dropped the objection.
In the motion to allow the change, the state pointed out that the layout of the courtroom where the trial was to be held would put the victim in close proximity to the defendants and that it would be difficult for him to be so close and directly facing the defendants because he is described as “terrified” of them.
The victim and the court reporter were expected to switch positions allowing the teen to testify “out of the direct path and view” of the defendants. The change would only be made for the victim’s testimony.
In his initial objection to the change, the attorney representing Wright and Barnett, James Hensley, Jr., of Conway, alleged such a move would violate his clients’ constitutional right to directly confront their accuser.
During a recent court session, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Chris Carter presented the state’s reasons for wanting the victim to be out of the direct line of sight of the defendants and Hensley told the court he would no longer push his objection.
Another motion Hensley filed in which he wanted the state to disclose “evidence which would be used in the sentencing phase of the trial” was withdrawn in an earlier pre-trial hearing.
Judge Bailey said two panels of prospective jurors would be called for the trial because it was assumed the high profile of the case would make it more difficult to choose 12 jurors and two alternates who have not heard of the case and/or formed an opinion of the guilt or innocence of Barnett and Wright.
SUSPECTED ABUSE REPORTED ALMOST 30 TIMES
The investigation into the case showed that since 2013, twenty-nine “cases” had been opened on the young man’s situation based on reports that came to the Child Abuse Hotline.
The cases dealt with a number of issues, including general maltreatment, inadequate supervision, failure to provide food and other essential needs, extreme or repeated cruelty and failure to protect.
Information was provided by mandated reporters and anonymous sources. Mandated reporters are those who are required by law to report instances of child abuse and include teachers, social workers, health care professionals, law enforcement and coaches.
The “cases” based on the reports were apparently all closed after the incidents were deemed unsubstantiated.
Since it came to light that so many reports were made alleging abuse over more than 10 years without the young man being removed from the home by the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS), attention has been focused on why the agency and it Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS) dropped the ball to such an extent.
The Baxter County case has caused a push for major changes in the way abuse reports are handled to help ensure nothing like it will happen in the future. There have been legislative hearings on the case and DHS’ lack of response to the plight of the teen.
It is expected that a number of changes will be recommended and brought before the next regular session of the General Assembly.
At his request, Prosecutor David Ethredge also met with the then head of the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) and the agency’s chief attorney to ask questions about how the 29 complaints were handled and why the teen’s situation had not come to light earlier as a result of the numerous complaints.
After the meeting, Ethredge told KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot News that the then DHS head, Kristi Putman, admitted her agency had not met its responsibilities to the teen victim and that the “ball had been badly dropped.”
A report to Ethredge was promised on the Baxter County case.
Putman has since left the agency. A DHS spokesman told KTLO, Classic Hits and the Boot News at the time of the departure that the change in leadership at DHS would not delay completing the report and providing it to Ethredge and releasing it to the public.
However, the agency did a complete reversal of that pledge and said the child maltreatment report dealing with the Baxter County case could not be publicly released and that any shortcomings detected in the agency’s handling of that specific case would be “dealt with internally.”
The agency has admitted it erred in taking each report made on the Mountain Home teen’s case as separate and unrelated to other reports on the same situation and victim.
DHS has said checking for a pattern of abuse based on multiple hotline reports made on the same victim is now required because of the Baxter County case.
A study done by DHS and requested by members of the General Assembly, identified 341 cases similar to the one in Baxter County in that multiple reports were made to the hotline but no action was taken to remove the child/children from the situation.
A copy of that report was provided to KTLO, Classic Hits and the Boot News and was the basis of a story aired April 13.
According to the probable cause affidavit, it was in January 2024 that the family moved into the apartment where the boy’s situation was eventually brought to light.
Downstairs neighbors reported hearing noises coming from the upstairs apartment where the family lived and said they reported it to management several times.
The apartment managers claim they notified Wright and Barnett, about the complaints, but the noises continued.
In October 2024, police were notified and Wright was contacted by telephone about the noise. During a telephone call with Wright, he was reported to have said the 15-year-old male was at work with him. Records do not show that any effort was made to see the boy face-to-face in order to prove or disprove Wright’s claim.
Investigators speculate the other two children living in the house may have been coached by Wright and Barnett not to talk about the 15-year-old or his substandard living conditions.
Police returned to the apartment complex to investigate a report that audible cries for help were coming from an upstairs unit.
It was at this point that the extent of the boy’s maltreatment was finally uncovered.
Officers met with the occupants of the downstairs apartment and were taken to the master bedroom where the teenager could be heard speaking to the tenants from the apartment above.
He said that he was locked in the bathroom and could not get out.
Police headed to the upstairs apartment and were met by two juveniles, then ages 10 and 11. Wright and Barnett were reported to have been at work. Wright is said to have been employed by a furniture and appliance rental business and Barnett at a used car lot.
When police went to the master bedroom of the upstairs unit occupied by Wright and Barnett, they reported seeing a red “ratchet strap” attached to the bedpost and the door of the master bath which kept the door from being opened.
A ratchet strap is commonly used to tie down and secure items being carried in a vehicle.
When the strap was released and the door opened, officers saw the naked 15-year-old male. He told them he had been locked in the bathroom the day before and not allowed out since.
The boy said he slept naked because he had once stuffed clothing into a vent to stop cold air from coming into the room. According to investigative reports, the lack of clothing appeared to have been some sort of punishment for clogging the vent.
Police reported that the teen was embarrassed to come out of the bathroom because he was nude.
Even though the two juveniles who met police at the front door had initially feigned ignorance about a person being locked in the bathroom, they did speak to officers after the victim had been discovered.
The two juveniles said they slept in bunkbeds and the 15-year-old male slept on a pallet in the bathroom. They said there was no bedroom in the apartment for the boy.
The victim incorrectly referred to Wright as his stepfather and to Barnett as his mother. She is actually his aunt and legal guardian.
There are court records regarding a guardianship for two boys and listing Jaclyn M. Barnett as the person asking for the designation.
In court documents, Barnett is listed as the boy’s paternal aunt and as Wright’s fiancé.
In an annual guardianship report submitted by Barnett’s attorney several years ago, one of the boys was said to be attending a kindergarten where he received counseling, occupational, speech and physical therapy “to address his needs.”
It was also disclosed that one of the boys, which could have been the victim, received $733 a month in social security benefits.
Court records are liberally sprinkled with documents showing what can only be described as an unusual family arrangement.
At one point, when the couple lived in Northwest Arkansas prior to moving to Mountain Home, Barnett was quoted as saying there were at least six children in her home and higher numbers – up to a dozen – are also mentioned in court reports and other documents.
When Wright and Barnett were interviewed by officers looking into the Baxter County case, they claimed they had no idea the 15-year-old had been locked in the bathroom.
The couple said the boy must have been locked in while “the kids were playing.” Officers reported the two juveniles were asked to demonstrate how they would manipulate the ratchet strap keeping the bathroom door shut but they were unable to perform the task.
Wright and Barnett were also reported to have told investigators a different story at one point, saying that the ratchet strap was not used to keep the teen in the bathroom, but to keep all of the children in the house out of the bathroom because of a leaky faucet that had been reported to management several times.
Apartment managers contradicted that statement telling investigators they had been contacted once in July 2024 by Wright and Barnett and that was to report a loose toilet, not a leaky faucet.
The initial victim, who was reported to be small for his age, said he was only let out of the bathroom sporadically to attend school and that is also the only time he was allegedly able to eat.
When school records were checked, they showed the victim had been to school for only 112 days since January last year.
The teen was removed from the apartment by DHS and he is reported to be doing well in his new environment.
Wright and Barnett were initially freed on $50,000 bond each but as additional charges were filed, the bond was increased and now stands at $1 million each.
They have been inmates in the Baxter County Detention Center since November 7 last year.
