US Army sergeant sentenced for sodomy of a minor and child porn

July 15, 2008 Staff Sgt. Christopher Barberi, a U.S. Army Europe non-commissioned officer, was sentenced Friday for sodomy of a minor and possession of pornographic photos of the girl following conviction on 2 July. He was sentenced to two years in prison.

Barberi allegedly committed statutory rape of the young girl from the time she was 11 until she was 15, but could not be charged for his rape of the girl when she was 11 due to a statute of limitations. If the statute had not applied then Barberi would have faced a life sentence. Prior to the sentence, he was given a bad-conduct discharge from the United States Army.

The young girl said she tried to end the relationship several times, but was pressured to resume it until her 15th birthday. The girl said that Barberi told her "That's what little girls do."

The girl reported the sexual abuse in late 2006; at first to her mother; then later to law enforcement. She said it was because "It got too much for me to handle."

During this case the defense brought forward a 30-year-old woman as a witness, who testified that the young girl was lying. Prosecutor Maj. Jacqueline Tubbs cross examined the woman, and got her to admit she had lied a to CID investigator. That statement regarded the young girl's comments to the woman: "What she said was, 'You know he did this to you, too'", Tubbs said. The witness was also a relative of the alleged victim.