Ohio man charged with sexually assaulting a young girl in Randolph County

Editor’s Note: A mugshot of Bryant Q. Barnes has not yet been made available.

WINCHESTER, Ind. — An Ohio man has been charged with several felonies in Randolph County after being accused of repeatedly sexually abusing a young girl when he lived in Indiana.

Bryant Q. Barnes, an ex-Winchester resident now living in Greenville, Ohio, was charged this week in Randolph Circuit Court with felony child molesting and child solicitation. If convicted, the 36-year-old could face over 50 years in prison.

Court documents filed Wednesday detail how Winchester police began investigating Barnes last July after receiving a tip from a local parent. The tipster told officers that Barnes had repeatedly sexually assaulted a young girl throughout 2015.

The girl, who was either 6 or 7 years old at the time of the assaults, said Bryant would have been around 27 at the time of the assaults. She said Bryant warned her not to tell anyone what was happening or else “she would get into trouble.”

After gathering further evidence, police determined that Bryant was living in Ohio and tracked down his phone number. Bryant reportedly returned a call from police and agreed to meet with Winchester police for an interview on Aug. 2, 2024.

However, Bryant reportedly never showed up for the meeting and failed to return all subsequent calls from police. Now, nearly nine months after the investigation began, charges have been filed against Bryant.

Online court records show Barnes has been officially charged in Randolph County but do not specify whether an arrest has been made.

Criminal records show Barnes was convicted of nonsupport of a dependent child in 2023 in Adams County and driving while suspended in 2015 in Randolph County.