Peaceoholics Mentor Found Guilty in Teen's Assault

A D.C. Superior Court jury on Friday found a counselor with the mentoring group Peaceoholics guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl at the school where he was assigned to work with troubled students.

The jury of five men and seven women spent about a day deliberating before finding Barry Harrison, 50, of District Heights guilty on all five charges, including sexual abuse of a child.

The case came down to credibility. Harrison's attorney insisted that the victim and three of her female classmates concocted a story that Harrison, who served time in prison for a 1984 murder, used his position as a mentor to prey on female students at Spingarn High School.

Because of the age of the victim, Harrison faces a maximum of 90 years in prison on four of the five felony charges. Harrison faces additional prison time for parole violation from his 1984 conviction. He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 13.

"This was a very ugly crime," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward O'Connell. "We're happy that this perpetrator is no longer in a position to prey on other students."

The victim, now 16, tearfully told the jury that on April 14 Harrison kissed her and forced her to touch his groin after luring her to the basement of Spingarn, on Benning Road NE.

Harrison's attorney, Robert Mance, introduced evidence to try to show that the victim and her friends were troubled students who targeted Harrison because he reported them for fighting and skipping class.

Harrison spent about 22 years in prison for beating and shooting to death two D.C. men. In 1978, he was convicted of armed robbery, and last year he pleaded guilty to cocaine possession.

In the end, it was Harrison's prison record, which he spoke of while on the stand and which he shared with the teens while working in the school, that his supporters say influenced the jury, not the evidence in the case.

"Based on the evidence, we don't feel it was the right verdict," said Ronald Moten, a Peaceoholics co-founder. "If Mr. Harrison didn't have the prior conviction, people wouldn't look at him the way they look at him."

Peaceoholics, which hires some ex-offenders, works with D.C. teens to resolve conflicts. It was created four years ago and has received about $7.6 million in city contracts and grants. Since Harrison's arrest, Moten said his organization has changed its procedures for screening employees. In the past, Moten would rely on D.C. police criminal background checks, but those reports only go back 10 years and failed to detect Harrison's 1984 murder conviction. Moten now uses FBI criminal checks, which are more comprehensive.

In an e-mail, D.C. Public Schools spokeswoman Jennifer Calloway said the school system will continue to screen Peaceoholic employees and other workers who come in contact with students.

During the two-day trial, three other teens testified that Harrison made sexual comments to them just days before assaulting their friend. The mother of one of the teens who testified said she was "pleased" with the verdict.

"I believe he's getting what he deserves. All of his other past things that he has done has caught up with him. These girls were smart enough not to fall all the way into what he was trying to get them to do," she said.

Harrison's wife and several of the couple's 10 adult children were in the courtroom throughout much of the trial, including the jury's deliberations. Dozens of Peaceoholics employees and volunteers were also present. Before the verdict was read, Judge Michael L. Rankin urged those in attendance to remain orderly.

Harrison showed no reaction when the verdict was read.