Broadway Star Admits To Sexual Assault Of Teenage Actress
Broadway star James Barbour is facing a two month jail sentence after he confessed to groping a 15-year-old girl in his dressing room.
The 41-year-old agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a minor in return for 60 days in jail. Barbour admitted in court yesterday that he lured a high school student back to his dressing room in 2001 after a teacher arranged for her and her parents to see him in a production of Jane Eyre.
The actor - who also played the Beast in Beauty and the Beast - revealed he touched the aspiring actress sexually. He then arranged for her to visit him at home, where he touched her again. Barbour's lawyer Ronald P. Fischetti claims the girl - now 22 - initiated the contact, and has asked a court to allow him to publish ads, featuring the girl's name, asking men if she has filed false claims against them.
He told reporters, "She initiated both of these sexual encounters and then waited five years before filing a complaint against him." Fischetti added that his client only pleaded guilty to avoid being added to the sex offenders' register. He said, "By pleading guilty to misdemeanors, he doesn't have to register (as a sex offender), and that's important. "He wouldn't have been able to travel without reporting, and he wouldn't have been able to work with children."
First of all, this guy shouldn't be working with children ever again. I don't care of she made the first move or not. The fact is that he was 34 and she was 15 and he should have known better. Also, if he didn't do it, then why the hell would you plead guilty to the crime. The guy invited the 15 year old girl back to his house because he wanted to continue the groping he did at the theatre. And what is with the lawyer wanting to publish her name in the papers? That is just crass. What would the ad say? Did this teenage girl come on to any older guys in the New York area? Would he post lots of pictures of her as well so the whole world would know. This is a bunch of crap. Like I said, it doesn't matter if she initiated it, the guy should have stopped it. Go to jail James and let the guys there spend some time groping you and see how you enjoy it.
The picture is what Barbour looked like at the time of the sexual assault.
