The Broadway actor who faced sexual misconduct charges towards a minor has pleaded guilty to avoid being classified a sex offender. James Barbour, who has played swains like Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre and the Beast in Beauty & the Beast, now faces 60 days in prison, three years probation, and a number of requirements similar to those of registered sex offenders.
Per the plea deal, Barbour confessed to the crimes in court yesterday. In 2001, the then-15-year-old girl first met Barbour when she went to see Jane Eyre with her parents (the backstage visit had been arranged by her drama teacher). From the Post, which accurately calls the testimony "graphic":
"I placed my hand - I mean her hand," Barbour continued, flubbing his line, "on my p- - -s and my hand on her v- - - -a."
"On her what?" asked the court stenographer, leaning in to hear him.
"On her v- - - -a," he repeated helpfully, projecting more clearly.
Barbour next admitted to a second romp with the girl, this one a month later in his West 98th Street apartment.
"We engaged in oral sexual conduct. I knew she was 15," he said.
As part of his sentencing, Barbour must undergo sex-offender treatment and cannot visit areas frequented by children (playgrounds, Internet chat rooms, schools) unless he gets permission from his probation officer. Additionally, the NY Times notes that he must "inform the manager, producer or assistant director of any theatrical, film or television project he works in that he has been convicted of endangering the welfare of a child, 'having engaged in oral sexual conduct and sexual contact with a 15-year-old child.'"
Barbour's lawyer Ronald Fischetti had claimed the woman, now 22 years old and an actress, filed charges because Barbour inherited money after his mother's death. Fischetti had also previously proposed setting up an 800 number so other people could call in and say whether the victim had accused them of sexual abuse. Fischetti is still seeking permission to print her name so he can run ads asking as much.
