Alleged rapist faces life

By DUANE SHERRILL Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

The man who allegedly tied up and raped a 16-year-old girl near Rock Island this spring could face the rest of his life behind bars as grand jurors returned four indictments for the crime.

The defendant, Bruce Barnes, was indicted Friday on three counts of rape and one count of aggravated rape, the most serious of the counts carrying 15 to 25 years in prison. He remains held at Warren County Jail following his capture this June near Atlanta where he had been hiding.

According to investigators, Barnes picked up his victim, a family acquaintance, in his truck and took her to King’s Landing boat ramp at Rock Island in the early evening hours this past April. At that point, Barnes reportedly bound the girl hand and foot before raping her inside his truck. He then returned the girl to her home, warning her not to reveal what happened. The girl disregarded Barnes’ warning and reported his actions immediately.

Barnes was able to escape a manhunt shortly following the incident, fleeing on foot and leaving his vehicle, bearing evidence of the crime, behind for lawmen to find. Barnes remained at-large a couple of months until he was caught in Gwinnett County, Georgia after a nationwide all-points bulletin was issued for his arrest.

The four indictments against Barnes come for the single encounter. However, prosecutors now generally charge alleged rapists with each act they perform during the rape, meaning Barnes was hit with three separate acts along with the aggravated rape for using a knife in the commission of the crime.

In addition to facing four counts, Barnes could also be sentenced separately on all four counts, meaning he could face 25 years for the aggravated rape count and up to 12 years for each of the acts of rape.