Arrest made in sexual assault case

By: Greg Bird

An arrest has been made in an alleged sexual assault case, first reported last month.

Constable Freddie Clark arrested Mike Barnett, 36, of Worley Hill Top, on Sunday, September 20 after a routine traffic stop on Constable Clark’s patrol. Constable Clark reported he spotted the suspect as a passenger in a passing car. Knowing there was an arrest warrant issued on Barnett, Constable Clark initiated the traffic stop and made the arrest.

“He tried to hide his face from me when I first saw him,” Constable Clark said.

Barnett was charged with one count of First Degree Rape after being accused of sexually assaulting a McCreary County woman on September 5, then leaving her in a wooded area. The woman reportedly was lost in the woods for nearly two days before being found along the railroad tracks in Stearns the following Sunday.

Barnett had a preliminary hearing last Thursday in McCreary County District Court, where Judge Fred White ruled there was enough probable cause to remand the case to the McCreary County Grand Jury for possible indictment.

He is being held at the Wayne County Detention Center under a $150,000 cash bond.