Man gets 60 years in prison for raping, abusing 3 Mt. Juliet children
MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WKRN) — A Wilson County man will be spending the rest of his life in prison for sex crimes against three different children.
On Friday, May 10, Judge Brody Kane sentenced 50-year-old Pedro Barrera to 60 years in prison to be served at 100% with no early release eligibility. He was also placed on the sex offender registry as a violent offender and sentenced to community supervision for life.
PREVIOUS: Man accused of sexually assaulting 3 children in Mt. Juliet
A Wilson County jury found Barrera guilty of 10 charges related to child sexual abuse following a four-day trial that began on Feb. 1. Those charges included three counts of rape of a child, six counts of aggravated sexual battery and one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child.
The last charge is committed when a person has several violent sexual offenses against three or more victims. Officials said Barrera’s victims were between the ages of 7 and 9 years old when the abuse began in 2017.
He continued sexually abusing the children for nearly three years. Through their investigation, authorities discovered that the abuse had taken place at two separate apartment buildings in Mt. Juliet. Barrera was reportedly a resident at the apartments when the assaults happened.
Initially police only knew of one victim, but it was through their investigation that they discovered two more. After the investigation was complete, Barrera was arrested and has remained in custody ever since.
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All three victims — none of whom were related to Barrera — testified at the trial in February.
“This sentencing ensures that Pedro Barrera will never be released to hurt another person,” said District Attorney Jason Lawson. “I am thankful for the careful attention to detail that Judge Kane pronounced during the sentencing. I hope that today’s sentencing will bring some measure of peace to the victims and their families in this case.”
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