OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — (GRAND HAVEN TRIBUNE) - Two brothers convicted of molesting two young children more than 14 years ago were sent to prison following separate hearings Monday in Ottawa County Circuit Court.
The incidents occurred at a residence in Georgetown Township.
Joshua Ryan Barnard, 31, of Grandville, was ordered to serve a minimum 17.5-40 years in prison for the criminal sexual conduct incident that occurred between February and August of 2006. He was given credit for 367 days already served in jail.
His younger brother, Jeffrey Barnard, 27, of Newaygo, was ordered to serve a minimum of 15-40 years in prison for a similar conviction. He was given credit for 30 days served in jail.
Judge Karen Miedema said that she gave Joshua a longer sentence because he is also facing prison time on a similar conviction out of Kent County that came to light last year.
The incident occurred in 2015 and involved an 8-9-year-old girl.
“The court is concerned about this defendant’s ability to rehabilitate,” she said.
The judge noted that Jeffrey came forward on his own to admit responsibility for his actions and that made a difference, too.
The victims in the Ottawa County case spoke up after learning about the Kent County case involving Joshua.
An advocate read the same victim statement at the morning and afternoon hearings.
In the statement, the now 20-year-old woman said she is still dealing with issues from the repeated number of instances in which she was required to perform oral sex, primarily on Joshua, in exchange for candy or privileges like staying up late. She was 6 years old at the time.
This happened when the brothers babysit for the young girl and her brother. He was required to do the same thing, mostly for Jeffrey, the woman said in her statement.
She noted the incidents with Jeffrey did not occur over the long period of time like they did with Joshua.
Jeffrey Barnard emphasized that he told his family about the incident, was ready to take responsibility and asked Judge Jon Hulsing to take the young man’s character into account.
Hulsing emphasized that there was a year’s worth of misconduct involving a minor victim and that the brothers “acted in consort” for their own pleasure.
“This was a horrible series of acts,” Hulsing said as he noted that while Jeffrey entered a guilty plea to a couple of incidents, in reality, it could have been 50 or more.
Miedema made the same point when sentencing Joshua.
Both judges said they were going above guidelines in the sentencing.
Both men will also have to register as sex offenders and will be subject to lifetime electronic monitoring. They are not allowed contact with the victims, cannot own or use a computer and cannot be within 1,000 feet of a school.
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