Victims' pleas bring leniency in sex abuse case
 Colorado City mayor's son escapes prison time after victims ask for mercy
 
The Spectrum
 
COLORADO CITY -- Leniency pleas from his victims and others and the unique lifestyle of the primarily polygamous community of Colorado City figured prominently in the sentencing of a man who admitted improper sexual contact with five young female relatives.

Dan Barlow Jr., 51, escaped prison time and further county jail incarceration through a plea agreement that led to sentencing Friday in Mohave County Superior Court in Kingman. Judge Richard Weiss imposed a 120-day jail sentence but suspended all of that, granting credit for the 13 days Barlow had already spent in jail.

Barlow, son of 17-year Colorado City Mayor Dan Barlow Sr., must register as a sex offender and perform 500 hours of community service. Weiss also placed Barlow on supervised probation for seven years.

Court records show that arresting deputy Sam Roundy said Barlow admitted initial allegations of improper sexual contact with the five girls. Only instances involving four of the girls were charged in the indictment returned by a grand jury.

Barlow was charged with four counts of sexual abuse involving contact with the breasts of four of the girls, all of them younger than 15. He was also charged with sexual abuse for allegedly having one of the girls make contact with his genitals.

Barlow pleaded guilty to one count of sexual abuse in the plea agreement that exposed him to no more than four months in jail.

Prosecutor Matt Smith was unable to attend the sentencing proceeding, but commenting outside the hearing, he agreed the disposition may appear too lenient to some.

"This guy probably deserves to go to prison, there's no question about that," the deputy county attorney said. Smith said the state had a strong case that could have proved convictions requiring mandatory prison time but took another approach for several reasons.

Smith noted the victims had written letters to the court asking that Barlow be spared from prison. Mayor Barlow and a number of other Colorado City community members expressed the same wish in their letters to the court.

Smith noted that two of the victims indicated that they didn't wish to testify. Had he not fashioned an agreement in accord with their wishes, Smith noted the girls may have decided not to cooperate and appear at trial.

Smith said pushing the case in a more traditional approach may have had a chilling effect, preventing other victims from reporting crimes in Colorado City in the future. Ultimately, Smith conceded he crafted a deal to respect the victims and the consensus of the community.

"They like to handle things their own way up there," Smith said. "(Barlow's wife) divorced him right away, the (victims) have isolated themselves from him and nobody wants to see him do any time up there."
 
TheSpectrum.com
Originally published April 20, 2002
 
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