A man was sentenced to 200 years in prison for sexually assaulting three children over four years, the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
On Aug. 26, 2018, an Aurora father told police that his son had been sexually assaulted by his adult cousin, 35-year-old Brian Eugene Barcelona, according to the district attorney's office. Authorities began an investigation and discovered that between 2015 and 2018, Barcelona had repeatedly sexually assaulted the child and his two siblings, whose ages ranged between 10 and 13.
Photographs of the sexual abuse were found on Barcelona's cellphone when he was arrested, according to the district attorney's office.
Barcelona pleaded not guilty, and his trial began on Oct. 25, 2021. After a seven-day trial, he was found guilty of 12 counts of sexual assault of a child by one in a position of trust and four counts of sexual exploitation of a child, the district attorney's office said.
“In all my years of prosecuting these types of cases, I struggle to recall another one involving such severe abuse or brazen conduct,” said Senior Deputy District Attorney Danielle Jaramillo. “The defendant felt so secure in his ability to exploit his position of trust to silence these children that he actually kept photographs as trophies.”
Judge Joseph Whitfield sentenced Barcelona to 200 years in prison.
“This predator selfishly sacrificed the well-being of his own relatives to satisfy his depraved desires,” District Attorney John Kellner said. “I am grateful for the bravery of these young victims who came forward to put a stop to his destructive manipulation.”
