Spokane mother who filmed herself sexually assaulting her 3-year-old daughter gets 20 years in prison
Sep. 8—A Spokane mother in a gray jail jumpsuit told a federal judge Wednesday there will "never be an excuse" for her decision to film herself performing a sexual act on her own daughter, then send it over the internet to at least 10 people.
"I will live every day with the knowledge that I caused your pain," Jessica Barrington, 31, said in remarks directed to her child, who was not present in a federal courtroom Wednesday.
The admission of guilt and pledge to improve herself convinced U.S. Senior District Court Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson to reject the federal prosecutor's office request that Barrington, previously known as Jessica Cunnington, spend 28 years behind bars. Instead, Peterson sentenced her to 20 years on a charge of production of child pornography. Barrington pleaded guilty in April.
After a frequently contentious back-and-forth with Assistant U.S. Attorney Dave Herzog concerning other child sexual abuse cases brought in the district, Peterson said she saw "no value" in imprisoning Barrington for another eight years based on her motivation to seek treatment while in jail since January 2019.
In one particularly heated moment, Herzog told Peterson that her decision to sentence Barrington to a decade of supervised release following imprisonment violated the terms of the plea agreement, in which federal prosecutors, Barrington's defense attorney and the county prosecutors who had charged her with child rape had agreed to a lifetime of supervision. Peterson then said she'd change her ruling on supervision to life, telling Barrington that she could petition to have it removed for good behavior after her release.
"That will look better in the press release, I'm sure," Peterson said, looking at Herzog.
Herzog said because of Barrington's actions, her children will not know their mother, and asked Peterson to send a message with her verdict.
"The community should know, if you assault your child, the consequences are severe," Herzog said.