The Maryville, Mo. teenager accused of raping Daisy Coleman and a friend in 2012 entered a guilty plea to a lesser charge and has been sentenced to probation.
Matthew Barnett’s sentence comes just days after Daisy attempted to commit suicide due to cyber bullying over the rape allegations.
According to KCTV:
Matthew Barnett, who was 17 years old at the time of the alleged attack, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in a short hearing Thursday afternoon before Associate Circuit Judge Glen Dietrich.
Barnett was then sentenced to 2 years probation. If he fails to meet the conditions of his probation, then he faces four months in jail.
He could have faced up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine on the charge of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
Barnett was arrested by the Missouri Highway Patrol Thursday morning as part of a previously agreed to plea deal.
Although he apologized to the Coleman family, Barnett maintains that the sex was consensual. Barnett was a high school football player and is the grandson of a prominent Republican.
Officials say Daisy and her mother were informed of the plea deal and accepted it, officials said.
This is the first development in the case since a special prosecutor was assigned to investigate after charges against Barnett and another 17-year-old boy were dropped, citing a lack of evidence and the Colemans’ refusal to cooperate.
The Colemans, however, said that was not the case.
There’s no word whether charges will be brought against the other suspect.
SOURCE: KCTV | PHOTO CREDIT: Police Department
