Man pleads to sex assault
With a group of prospective jurors waiting Monday morning, a Washington man entered guilty pleas in Washington County Court to rape, indecent aggravated indecent assault, kidnapping a minor and intimidating a victim.
Brandon Barnickel, 32, of Washington, was sentenced to 7 to 14 years in prison on the sex assault and kidnapping charges, followed by three years of probation for sending letters to the victim, who ran away from home at age 16. The letters, written under a pseudonym, asked the victim not to testify against Barnickel because he was “a good guy.”
The victim, who was 16 years old when the rape occurred in February 2016, was prepared to testify if Barnickel had stood trial. Instead, she gave an impact statement in the courtroom of Judge Gary Gilman, according to Assistant District Attorney Kristin Clingerman.
Barnickel, who was represented by the public defender’s office, was accused of forcing the girl, who had been reported missing by her parents, into an abandoned house on Hillside Avenue in Washington, then forced her to have sex.
She was able to escape while Barnickel was putting on his clothes. She returned home and reported the assault to her family.
The girl, after getting into an argument with her mother, had been walking in an alley that runs parallel to Jefferson Avenue along Catfish Creek when she spotted two men, one of them later identified by police as Barnickel, in an area known as “The Beach.”
According to state police, Barnickel spoke to the girl, repeatedly telling her she knew him.
Under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act and Megan’s Law, Barnickel will be required to report his whereabouts after his release from prison as a condition of his sentence.