Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Conviction of Army & Navy headmaster for child abuse is overturned – updated 12-6-21

Appeals court disagreed with dismissal of juror - see author update in Comments

From Megan's Law website
From Megan's Law website

A top official at a boys academy in San Diego County had his child abuse conviction overturned, and he was granted a new trial by an appellant court.

Jeffery Barton, then 55, was head of schools at the Army & Navy military academy in Carlsbad, when he was arrested and accused of child abuse in October of 2013. He was employed there almost 20 years, from 1994 until his arrest. Accusations first surfaced in June 2013, when Barton was accused of molesting boys from 13 to 15 years of age.

Patricia Lavermiccoca, left, led the second prosecution of Barton in May 2016. Judge Harry Elias, right, sentenced Barton to 48 years for each of the six guilty counts.

Three months ago, on October 26, 2020, an appeals court overturned Barton’s conviction because the trial judge removed a juror who reportedly refused to deliberate.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The appellant court did not dispute that Barton committed unlawful acts on boys.

“The evidence was more than sufficient to support the jury’s implied finding that Barton committed the sexual acts by means of duress. Thus Barton’s challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence to support the jury’s verdict is meritless,” the judge wrote. “While we reverse the judgment due to the error regarding discharge of Juror Number Twelve, Barton may be tried again for these offenses…”

The 18-page decision was written by Associate Justice Richard D. Huffman, and justices Patricia D. Benke and Joan Irion concurred.

Barton’s first trial ended in November 2015. He was acquitted of some charges but the jury could not come to unanimous agreement on other counts.

Patricia Lavermiccoca led the second prosecution of Barton in May 2016, in which he was found guilty. The jury deliberated some days and complained about one female juror who reportedly would not join discussions. Then an alternate juror was substituted in, and the jury came to unanimous decisions in about five hours. Barton was convicted of five felony counts of sexual abuse of one student, plus one more felony molest charge.

Honorable judge Harry Elias sentenced Barton, then 59, to the maximum time allowed by law, 48 years, months for each of the six guilty counts.

Lavermiccoca is expected to prosecute Barton’s next trial, his third trial.

Barton, now 63, is expected to return to local custody in San Diego County on March 3. He has been in California State prison since 2017.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Live Five: Sitting On Stacy, Matte Blvck, Think X, Hendrix Celebration, Coriander

Alt-ska, dark electro-pop, tributes, and coastal rock in Solana Beach, Little Italy, Pacific Beach
From Megan's Law website
From Megan's Law website

A top official at a boys academy in San Diego County had his child abuse conviction overturned, and he was granted a new trial by an appellant court.

Jeffery Barton, then 55, was head of schools at the Army & Navy military academy in Carlsbad, when he was arrested and accused of child abuse in October of 2013. He was employed there almost 20 years, from 1994 until his arrest. Accusations first surfaced in June 2013, when Barton was accused of molesting boys from 13 to 15 years of age.

Patricia Lavermiccoca, left, led the second prosecution of Barton in May 2016. Judge Harry Elias, right, sentenced Barton to 48 years for each of the six guilty counts.

Three months ago, on October 26, 2020, an appeals court overturned Barton’s conviction because the trial judge removed a juror who reportedly refused to deliberate.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The appellant court did not dispute that Barton committed unlawful acts on boys.

“The evidence was more than sufficient to support the jury’s implied finding that Barton committed the sexual acts by means of duress. Thus Barton’s challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence to support the jury’s verdict is meritless,” the judge wrote. “While we reverse the judgment due to the error regarding discharge of Juror Number Twelve, Barton may be tried again for these offenses…”

The 18-page decision was written by Associate Justice Richard D. Huffman, and justices Patricia D. Benke and Joan Irion concurred.

Barton’s first trial ended in November 2015. He was acquitted of some charges but the jury could not come to unanimous agreement on other counts.

Patricia Lavermiccoca led the second prosecution of Barton in May 2016, in which he was found guilty. The jury deliberated some days and complained about one female juror who reportedly would not join discussions. Then an alternate juror was substituted in, and the jury came to unanimous decisions in about five hours. Barton was convicted of five felony counts of sexual abuse of one student, plus one more felony molest charge.

Honorable judge Harry Elias sentenced Barton, then 59, to the maximum time allowed by law, 48 years, months for each of the six guilty counts.

Lavermiccoca is expected to prosecute Barton’s next trial, his third trial.

Barton, now 63, is expected to return to local custody in San Diego County on March 3. He has been in California State prison since 2017.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Syrian treat maker Hakmi Sweets makes Dubai chocolate bars

Look for the counter shop inside a Mediterranean grill in El Cajon
Next Article

NORTH COUNTY’S BEST PERSONAL TRAINER: NICOLE HANSULT HELPING YOU FEEL STRONG, CONFIDENT, AND VIBRANT AT ANY AGE

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader