David Barnes, American detained in Russia, found guilty by Moscow judge
ABC News
David Barnes was convicted Tuesday by a Russian judge of abusing his two sons in Texas, but prosecutors in Texas never found cause to charge him there.
A Russian judge convicted a Texas man on Tuesday of abusing his two sons between 2014 and 2018 in the United States, even though the law enforcement officials in suburban Houston who previously investigated the allegations never found cause to file charges.
David Barnes, 66, was sentenced to 21 years in a high-security Russian penal colony. His attorney, Gleb Glinka, said he is planning to appeal.
"Frankly, I'm horrified," Glinka told ABC News outside the courthouse. "There was almost no evidence that the court could base that verdict on."
Barnes, a native of Huntsville, Alabama, has been detained in Moscow since January 2022. His bench trial began in the fall of 2022, but occurred on nonconsecutive days and did not conclude until Monday. Barnes testified in his own defense near the end of the trial.