Serial offender back in Crowley

In 2010, serial sex offender Lance Barton was sentenced to 25 years at hard labor by Judge Glennon Everett for the crimes of molestation of a juvenile, which he received 15 years, and oral sexual battery, for which he received 10 years to be run consecutively. 

It was his fourth conviction for a sexual related crime. 

When Everett handed down the verdict, Assistant District Attorney Roger Hamilton stated that he intended to file a Bill of Information, which could have resulted in a life sentence, due to the fact that Barton was a repeat offender. 

Before the 2010 verdict, stemming from a 2005 charge, his  convictions included:

• 1984 - Aggravated crimes against nature in Alexandria.

• 1990 - Indecent behavior with a juvenile in Baton Rouge

• 1995 - Oral sexual battery in Livingston Parish.

On Monday, the Post-Signal was alerted to the fact that Barton was seen by several people at a local restaurant on North Parkerson Avenue in Crowley. He was allegedly in the restaurant’s playroom area for children. 

According to records acquired from the Acadia Parish Courthouse, Barton’s 2010 sentence was overturned due to his defense lawyer’s failure to obtain records from the Department of Corrections (DOC) and the Office of Child Services (OCS)  from the Acadia Parish District Attorney’s office. His defense suggested that the failure to release these documents in a timely fashion hindered them from  having “an adequate opportunity to present the material effectively in the case.” 

The documents from OCS revealed that the victim initially denied that she had been molested by Barton when questioned by her aunt and grandmother. However, in a November 2005 interview with OCS, the victim told how Barton had touched her, her sister and her friends inappropriately 

He was granted a retrial in 2011 and changed his plea from not guilty to no contest. He avoided another trial and was sentenced by Judge Edward Rubin to seven and one half years at hard labor with the sentences to run concurrently and with credit for time served. 

Barton is now a free man, having been released in 2013. He is listed as a registered sex offender with his residence being located at 624 South Avenue F in Crowley. The home he currently resides in is less than a mile from South Crowley Elementary  School. However, a woman who requested anonymity stated that police were contacted after Barton was suspected of staying at the home of a woman, who has children, one block away on Jeannette Street. The charge was allegedly investigated but authorities were unable to find proof that he was living at the residence. 

The Post-Signal stopped by 624 S. Avenue F Tuesday morning to verify that Barton lived at the residence. A woman, later confirmed to be his mother, answered the door and verified that he did indeed live at the residence and that he was employed at a local business. She did not specify the business’ name. 

Barton contacted the Post-Signal shortly afterward and said he wanted to tell his side of the story. He claimed that “none of those girls were ever touched” and that he was a “victim of the system.”

“You don’t know how the system works,” he said. 

Barton claimed that his initial charge of aggravated crime against nature was a result of him “getting loaded and picking up the wrong child.” He didn’t elaborate.

The subsequent charges, he said, were a result of his status as a sex offender making him a convenient target. He stated that the victim in his 1995 conviction was in a dark room where it was impossible to identify her assailant. 

“The only reason I pled no contest (for the 2005 charge) was because I needed to take care of my mother who suffers from dementia,” he said. “Otherwise I would have stuck with the not guilty plea and I would have won.”

Barton also said that he was concerned that if any more news came out about him it could “ruin his life.”

Hamilton’s recollection of Barton’s initial court appearance differs drastically. 

“He initially pled guilty,” said Hamilton, who’s frustration over Barton’s release was evident. 

Hamilton said that there currently is no law prohibiting sex offenders from being present at a restaurant or other venue with an area which caters to children.

“I would hope that this is something that the legislature would look into soon,” he said.