After two mistrials, a Gwinnett County jury convicted a man of child cruelty Monday after prosecutors showed that he failed to protect his 8-year-old daughter from her stepmother, who allegedly beat the girl to death with a rolling pin.
Cledir Barros, 38, was found guilty on one count of child cruelty in his third trial in recent weeks. He was initially charged with second-degree murder and two counts of child cruelty, but the murder charge was dismissed before the first trial and one child cruelty charge was removed after the second mistrial.
“Whether this was tried one time or three times or as many times as was necessary to reach a verdict in this case is of no account one way or the other,” Gwinnett Superior Court Judge George Hutchinson said in his sentencing remarks. “The sentence that I’ll impose reflects your behavior and the consequences of that behavior, and the evidence presented at trial in this case.”
In a live-streamed hearing, Hutchinson sentenced Barros to eight years in prison followed by two years on probation, nearly granting the maximum sentence requested by prosecutors.
“We extend our condolences to the three young girls who tragically lost their sister,” Gwinnett District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said in a statement after the verdict. “This beautiful girl needed her father to protect her. He failed to do that.”
Barros’ wife, 35-year-old Natiela Barros, is charged with two counts of murder, one count of felony murder, one count of aggravated assault and two counts of first-degree child cruelty, court records show. She was arraigned Aug. 27 and remains in the Gwinnett jail, where she has been held since her arrest in January.
Austin-Gatson said Cledir Barros knew about the pattern of abuse his wife inflicted on his daughter for more than a year before her death. At the trial, teachers from 8-year-old Sayra Barros’ school testified that she went to class injured and they reported it out of concern for her safety. When the teachers began to question Cledir and Natiela Barros, they pulled Sayra from school.
According to a report from the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services, Natiela Barros told investigators Sayra was being homeschooled because of behavioral issues at her elementary school, failing to mention the teachers’ concerns.
Natiela Barros is accused of killing Sayra by beating her with a rolling pin the morning of Jan. 30. Sayra survived the initial beating but later showed signs of serious injury, according to the DFCS report.
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When Sayra lost consciousness, Natiela Barros called Cledir instead of calling 911, the report said. Cledir Barros returned home from work and prayed over his daughter’s unconscious body for more than 10 minutes before calling for medical help, according to the DFCS report.
During the third trial, prosecutors said Cledir Barros continued to leave Sayra alone with Natiela despite knowing there was a history of the stepmother abusing the girl.
Cledir Barros has also been held in the county jail since his arrest but will be transferred to the state prison system to serve out his sentence.
Natiela Barros will remain in jail as her case progresses. At the time of her husband’s conviction, no further court dates had been scheduled in her case.
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