Daniel Barnett Was Held For Court On Numerous Child Rape Charges Following Prelim Hearing

PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, PA — A 38-year-old local man who is facing allegations that he raped a young girl more than 100 times over a years-long period must answer to the criminal charges in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court.

Daniel Barnett was held over for trial following a preliminary hearing in Magisterial District Court in late April, according to a criminal docket sheet.

During a preliminary hearing, a lower judge determines whether enough evidence exists for charges to be carried over to Common Pleas Court, which is the trial level court in Pennsylvania.

Barnett, who was arrested in April, has been charged by prosecutors with raping a young girl from January 1997 to December 2003, Patch previously reported.

He was arraigned on April 13 before Magisterial District Judge Maurice Saylor, who was the same judge who held Barnett over for trial following an April 26 preliminary hearing.

Court records show that Barnett is facing 62 felony counts and 30 misdemeanor counts in connection with the case against him, in which the victim alleges she was raped continuously by Barnett from the time she was 5 years old until she was 9 or 10.

The alleged abuse took place in Barnett's relative's home in Plymouth Township and in the victim's Whitemarsh Township home, Patch previously reported.

Patch has withheld the nature of the relationship between the victim and defendant in order to help protect the victim's identity.

Records show that Barnett was held for court on all of the counts against him.

A formal arraignment has been scheduled for June 8.