Report says DCF, probate court failed to protect girl sexually assaulted by legal guardian

HARTFORD, Conn. (WFSB) - A critical report from the state claims the Department of Children and Families, and the probate court, failed to protect a young girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted by her legal guardian for over a decade.

The girl eventually had the guardian’s child.

The I-Team first told you about Roger Barriault last year. The Bristol man is accused of sexually assaulting a girl in his care, over 3600 times, and getting the girl pregnant when she was just 12 years old.

He was her court appointed guardian. His wife Darlene was also arrested for risk of injury to a minor. Barriault and his wife were arrested last February after the victim, now grown, went to police.

The Office of the Child Advocate began investigating after the arrest, per state law.

Their final report says there were “missed opportunities” to intervene to protect this girl, referred to as Jane Doe. Their investigation found “despite numerous reports, Jane’s pregnancy, Mr. Barriault’s refusal to take paternity tests, and, later, receipt of text messages alluding to Mr. Barrault’s paternity, DCF did not contact the police to alert them to the allegations of sexual abuse.”

Nate Baber is representing the victim. “Look, very clearly, DCF failed in a number of ways, despite having the ability, the opportunity, the knowledge to intervene. They failed her and they continue to fail.”

Police say the abuse started when Jane Doe was 9 years old and ended at age 20.

The OCA says Barriault was first accused of inappropriate touching in 2005 and 2006 by a different child, a 13-year-old friend of the family. They say because of this he should have been identified as an alleged perpetrator of sexual abuse in DCF’s system, but he wasn’t.

At 12, when Jane Doe got pregnant, OCA says although DCF suspected Barriault was the father, they did not report those suspicions to police or seek a court order to make Barriault take a paternity test. A test done in 2024 proved he was the father.

In a statement to OCA that DCF shared with us, they went on to say that the system in place today has “evolved significantly over the past 20 years,” and the findings in the decades-old Barriault case are “of limited utility for purposes of this report.”

Baber says DCF is failing to take responsibility.

“The OCA found that they were mismanaging guardianship proceedings as recently as 2023 directly related to my client’s case, they put little value on her and her claims as they did 20 years ago. And because of that, she was allowed to be abused. And they never did anything to prevent it,” says Baber.

As for probate court concerns, the OCA says “the way information is recorded by DCF, in relation to assessments for the probate court, appears to have lacked complete and accurate information.”

The report recommends lawmakers look at the way probate courts handle guardianship, including changing laws to require training for reporting abuse. DCF says their partnership with the probate court has been instrumental to improving outcomes for families and goes on to say there is proper training.

A spokesperson for the probate court told us they have no comment. Barriault’s attorney also said he did not have a comment.

You can read the full report here: