BRISTOL, Conn. (WTNH) — A man accused of repeatedly raping a girl he was the legal guardian of thousands of times pleaded guilty Tuesday in court to first-degree sexual assault.
Roger Barriault, 65, was accused of repeatedly raping the victim, who goes by Crystal, “approximately 3,800 to 4,000 times” starting when she was nine, according to a police report.
Crystal was impregnated by Roger at age 12 and was threatened by him. A DNA test by Bristol police proved that Roger is the father of Crystal’s daughter.
Crystal, 30, filed a multi-million dollar claim against the Department of Children and Families (DCF) in 2024, claiming that they knew about her abuse, but did not interfere.
Their claim says in part: “Despite the reports, tips, referrals, complaints, concerns, suspicions, reasonable belief and her pregnancy, DCF failed to take any meaningful action… for more than a decade.”
In November 2024, DCF Commissioner Jodi Hill-Lilly released a statement to News 8 saying:
“First and foremost, our hearts go out to the victim, and we applaud her bravery for coming forward. As always, we are grateful for the collaboration of law enforcement and for their work to help hold this individual accountable and bring forth justice. Understandably, the Department has received many inquiries about the events in question that occurred over 15 years ago. However, we are limited in what we can share due to our confidentiality statutes and the pending criminal and civil litigation. However, statutes do allow us to correct misinformation made public about the Department’s role in how the victim arrived in the home of the person who harmed her. To that end, it has been reported that DCF “lost track” of the victim and a prior legal guardian in 2005. To clarify, the Department had no involvement with the child or any of the involved families between 2003-2006. Also, Mr. Barriault and his wife were never licensed foster parents for the Department and the now adult victim was not placed into the home of Roger Barriault by the Department. The family received guardianship of the victim via the Probate Court as a child.“
Roger is expected to be sentenced on Nov. 11 and faces a maximum of up to 25 years behind bars.
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