Pierce County man pleads guilty to child molestation, attempted kidnapping
UPDATE: Michael Barber pleaded guilty on Feb. 16 in Pierce County, Washington to Attempted Kidnapping 1 and Child Molestation 2.
Barber sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl in a park near her home in Spanaway in 2021. He threatened to kill the victim if she told anyone what happened.
A plea deal was made after prosecutors learned that testifying would not be what’s best for the young victim right now.
The state's recommendation at sentencing scheduled for April 12 will be for a sentence of 48 months plus 36 months of community custody, as well as conditions including registration as a sex offender and having to do a psychosexual evaluation.
It will be added on to the current sentence he’s already serving.
Judge Rumbaugh can accept the plea deal or sentence him to a different term.
In 2021, Barber was originally released on a $250,000 bail but failed to appear at his court hearing. He fled the state but was tracked down by a bounty hunter on behalf of the bail bonds company, Washington Fugitive Investigations, living in an RV in Tucson that had been provided to him by his wife.
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Pierce County Sheriff's deputies are looking for a child rape suspect who failed to appear for a court hearing.
58-year-old Michael Barber was arrested in 2021 for allegedly sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in a park near her home in Spanaway. Barber allegedly threatened to kill the victim if she told anyone what happened.
According to court documents, Barber was at the victim's home before the alleged assault looking for yard work earlier that day. Court documents say Barber lives near the victim.
The victim and her mother were able to identify Barber from Ring surveillance footage.
When deputies went to his home to arrest him, he refused to come out. A SWAT team was called in and he was arrested after an hours-long standoff.
He was arrested and charged with two counts of second-degree child rape, first-degree rape, first-degree kidnapping and felony harassment. Barber was later released on $250,000 bail and has not appeared for his court hearing.
Barber is bald and has blue eyes and may have a white/gray beard. He is about 5'10" and weighs 215 pounds.
Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information that leads to his arrest. You can leave an anonymous tip at 1-800-222-TIPS or by using the P3 Tips app.