TROUP COUNTY, Ga. — A Troup County man will spend the rest of his life in prison after a jury found him guilty of raping and molesting a child over a period of years.
According to the Troup County District Attorney’s Office, a jury convicted Michael Anthony Barnett, 48, on Sept. 24 of rape and child molestation charges.
Following the conviction, Superior Court Judge Travis Sakrison sentenced Barnett to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 29 years behind bars and one year of probation.
Prosecutors said the case began on Feb. 28, 2023, when a 16-year-old girl disclosed to her counselor that Barnett had been sexually abusing her.
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According to investigators, Barnett had threatened to harm the victim if she ever told anyone what was happening. The victim eventually came forward after Barnett moved to North Carolina.
During a forensic interview at the Troup County Children’s Advocacy Center, the victim told authorities the abuse began when she was 4 years old and continued until she was 14.
Investigators said two of the victim’s siblings later disclosed they had also been sexually abused.
In a statement following the conviction, prosecutors praised the victim for coming forward.
“After enduring a childhood that no child should ever experience, this sixteen-year-old found the courage to tell the truth, and in doing so, protected her siblings and other potential victims from this sexual predator,” the district attorney’s office said.
A jury found Barnett guilty of rape and child molestation but acquitted him on three additional child molestation charges and one count of criminal attempt to commit aggravated child molestation.