NEW BOSTON, Texas–A man who sexually and physically abused multiple young children over a period of years was convicted of 33 felonies Friday and sentenced to eight life sentences plus 352 years by a Bowie County jury at the end of a week-long trial.
Cody Blake Barnes, 32, will remain in the Bowie County jail until he is transported to a unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, where he is expected to live out the remainder of his life. In addition to the prison time, the jury also smacked Cody Barnes with $330,000 in fines.
Cody Barnes’ wife, Brittany Michelle Barnes, 32, has also been charged in the case and remains in Bowie County custody awaiting trial.
Cody Barnes sexually molested multiple children, some his biological and some who were Brittany Barnes’ from a prior relationship, according to court records. To keep them quiet about his depraved conduct, Cody Barnes would physically abuse and threaten great bodily harm to the kids, who began to make outcries of sexual abuse after they were removed from the Barnes’ custody because of severe neglect.
According to a notice filed in Cody Barnes’ case by First Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp, Brittany Barnes was well aware that her children were being sexually victimized by her husband, and that rather than take steps to protect them, told them to keep silent.
The couple not only allowed the large group of children to live in squalor in a New Boston, Texas, trailer that was infested with bed bugs and lice, but had sex in front of them. School officials and others who came into contact with the youth living with the Barneses repeatedly reported the physical neglect to Child Protective Services, according to the notice in Cody Barnes’ case, which mentions reports dating back to at least 2016.
The parental rights of the Barneses have been terminated through civil proceedings in Bowie County, court records show. Through various pseudonyms, eight children are listed in the court records as having suffered while in the couple’s custody. While their ages are not all identified, some are described in records as being ages 8 years, 6 years, 3 years, a toddler and a baby.
While it is unlikely the state will ever collect the full amount on the fines Cody Barnes now owes, portions of any funds deposited into his prison commissary account may be deducted toward them, reducing the amount of money Barnes has to spend on himself.
Cody Barnes is represented by Texarkana lawyer Butch Dunbar. District Judge John Tidwell presided over the trial and is assigned to Brittany Barnes’ case as well. Her trial is scheduled for later this month.
