He grabbed girl's arm -- now he's a sex offender
July 1, 2005
BY STEVE PATTERSON Staff Reporter
Fitzroy Barnaby said he had to swerve to avoid hitting the 14-year-old Des
Plaines girl who walked in front of his car.
She said he yelled, "Come here, little girl," before getting out of his car
and grabbing her by the arm.
He said he simply lectured her.
She said she broke free and ran, fearful of what he'd do next.
In a Thursday ruling, the Appellate Court of Illinois said the 28-year-old
Evanston man must register as a sex offender.
While acknowledging it might be "unfair for [Barnaby] to suffer the
stigmatization of being labeled a sex offender when his crime was not
sexually motivated," the court said his actions are the type that are "often
a precursor" to a child being abducted or molested.
Though Barnaby was acquitted of attempted kidnapping and child abduction
charges stemming from the November 2002 incident, he was convicted of
unlawful restraint of a minor -- which is a sex offense.
'Most stupid ruling'
Now, he will have to tell local police where he lives and won't be able to
live near a park or school.
"This is the most stupid ruling the appellate court has rendered in years,"
said Barnaby's Chicago attorney, Frederick Cohn. "If you see a 15-year-old
beating up your 8-year-old and you grab that kid's hand and are found guilty
of unlawful restraint, do you now have to register as a sex offender?"
But Cook County state's attorney spokesman Tom Stanton said Barnaby should
have to register "because of the proclivity of offenders who restrain
children to also commit sex acts or other crimes against them."
In the criminal case against him, Cook County Judge Patrick Morse said that
"it's more likely than not" Barnaby planned only "to chastise the girl" when
he grabbed her, but "I can't read his mind."
"I don't really see the purpose of registration in this case. I really
don't," Morse said. "But I feel that I am constrained by the statute."
Recognizing the stigma that comes with being labeled as a sex offender, the
appellate court said "it is [Barnaby's] actions which have caused him to be
stigmatized, not the courts."
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