Stephen Dalton Baril, Grandson of ex-Virginia governor dodges prison in rape case – Victim feels she was ‘robbed’ of justice
‘Jaundiced dispensation of justice for the rich and powerful’
Grandson of ex-Virginia governor dodges prison in rape case
Stephen Dalton Baril accused of raping a fellow University of Virginia student has avoided prison time
21-year-old Baril’s charges were reduced Friday from felony rape and felony sodomy to misdemeanor sexual battery and felony unlawful wounding
Stephen Dalton Baril from Richmond, Va, sexually assaulted a classmate he met at a bar, despite her pleas
When he was done the woman had bite marks on her lip and breast, as well as, bruises on her chin and arm
The next day Baril sent the victim a text: “I’m sorry if I got overly excited”
The plea deal meant the former UVA frat boy received just five years’ supervised probation
His Alford plea acknowledges sufficient evidence for conviction without admitting guilt
In her impact statement, the rape victim condemned the experience Baril put her through – “You raped me whether you want to hear it or not,” she said.
“You robbed me of feeling safe in a city I called my home”
Baril would have faced a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 10 years, if the case had gone to trial
VA former governor’s grandson, Stephen Dalton Baril [photo], escaped with 5 years probation, pled down from felony rape and felony sodomy charges, in a sweetheart deal Friday
Felony rape and sodomy charges against Stephen Dalton Baril, the grandson of former Virginia GOP Gov. John N. Dalton, The Daily Progress reports, were reduced Friday to misdemeanor sexual battery and felony unlawful wounding as part of his Alford plea, which acknowledges sufficient evidence for conviction without admitting guilt.
The former University of Virginia frat boy in Feb. 2017, was charged with rape and forcible sodomy in an alleged attack that left the woman, a UVA classmate, with bite marks and bruises.
The victim told police that Baril, 21, the grandson of a former Virginia governor, identified in court as M.H. told police she was raped by him on the night of Jan. 31 and into the early morning hours of Feb. 1, 2017 after he took her to his apartment and raped her instead of walking her home from a bar.
M.H. told police that she and Baril met at Coupe’s, a bar on Elliewood Avenue, at about 11:30 p.m. Jan. 31. When M.H. said she wanted to go home, she said Baril offered to walk her there. The two lived close to each other near 14th Street Northwest and Wertland Street, but when they got close to that area, M.H. said Baril playfully picked her up to try to redirect her toward his apartment.
The two ended up at Baril’s darkened apartment, and that’s where M.H. said Baril forcibly kissed, raped and sodomized her.
The woman told Baril she couldn’t stay at his place very long. After using his bathroom, she opened the door to find him down to his underwear.
“Please don’t make this bad,” she allegedly pleaded with Baril, according to the prosecutor.
The defendant allegedly pushed the woman onto his bed and sexually assaulted her. He finally let her go when she insisted on leaving, but not before she was left with souvenirs of bite marks on her lip and breast and bruises on her chin and arm, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
The alleged victim went to the hospital later and underwent a physical examination showing that she had sustained an injury to her genitals.
Baril proceeded to send the woman a text the next day that read: “I’m sorry if I got overly excited.”
In a victim statement, the woman condemned the “year and a half of hell” Baril put her through. She has rebuilt her life over 17 months and said she agreed to a plea deal to avoid reliving the trauma.
“You raped me whether you want to hear it or not,” she said. “You robbed me of feeling safe in a city I called my home.”
Defense attorney Rhonda Quagliana said she was confident Baril would have been acquitted. But since he faced a 10-year minimum sentence if convicted, she said, they opted not to pursue a trial.
“It is hard to predict and in the face of even the possibility he could have been convicted, he chose to enter an Alford plea,” she said.
Prosecutor Areshini Pather, thanked the M.H. for her courage and said she hoped the plea agreement helps bring her closure.
“When there is the ability to reach out across the courtroom and find some commonality in a plea agreement, it’s the responsible thing to do,” she said.The judge at Baril’s bond hearing last year had ordered that he subject to electronic monitoring, and have no further contact with the victim.
When Baril was released into his parents’ custody on a $10,000 bond, his father, Steve Baril, who ran as a Republican for state attorney general in 2005, promised Judge Robert Downer he would keep his son away from drugs and alcohol. His mother, Mary Dalton Baril, is a partner in the law firm McGuire Woods.
Baril’s father at that time said his son was no longer enrolled at UVA, where it was “very difficult under the circumstances for him to continue.” Both Baril’s father and mother are alumni of the school.
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