Trial begins for former Prince George school administrator accused of sexual abuse

PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- The trial for a former Prince George County school administrator accused of sexual abuse of a child in the 1980s began Monday, Jan. 5 with an extensive jury selection.

William Barnes, Jr. is on trial for three counts of aggravated sexual battery, 3 counts of indecent liberties with a child and three counts of forced sodomy against a victim that was his ward when the alleged abuse occurred in 1985 and 1986. The child was 14 years old at the time.

Now 79-year-old Barnes was first arrested on these charges in July 2024. He pled not guilty to all nine.

Barnes served as an assistant superintendent, guidance counselor, teacher and coach in Prince George County schools. Because of that role, he is known to many in the community, which came up during jury selection.

The jury pool, starting with 67, was questioned on their feelings about sexual abuse, their ability to believe accusations coming decades after the fact, and their engagement with the case through the news or social media.

More than a dozen potential jurors said they knew or were aware of Barnes, his accuser and witnesses for the case from being longtime county residents and attending Prince George schools. Some had been employed with the school district. At least one juror was struck for their relationship to the parties in the case.

Jurors were asked if they or someone close to them had experienced sexual abuse. Additional questioning on this sensitive subject drew sometimes emotional responses, and several jurors admitted they would have trouble being impartial in the case because of the nature of the crimes. Those jurors were dismissed.

Jurors were also questioned on what they had heard about the case in the news or social media. Some had only seen the story in passing, while others were aware of the additional allegations Barnes had faced.

Barnes is separately facing two other charges for child sexual abuse by other accusers. Those allegations and other 'bad acts' are not allowed to be mentioned during this trial. For that reason, jurors that were aware of any other accusations were dismissed from the case.

From the pool of 67, attorneys will narrow down the jury to 12 to continue to trial. The trial is expected to continue through Friday, Jan. 9.