Former Garner Inmate Charged With Sexual Assault
SOUTHBURY — State police have arrested a former Garner Correctional Institution inmate on felony charges for sexual actions he allegedly took while incarcerated at the high-security prison for men at 50 Nunnawauk Road in Newtown.
State police said that after learning that they held a warrant for his arrest, Patrick E. Barton, 27, of Willimantic went to the Willimantic Police Department on February 20 to surrender. Barton was then transported to state police’s Troop A Barracks in Southbury, where he was booked on the criminal charges.
Barton was charged with first-degree sexual assault, second-degree strangulation, and third-degree assault. The sexual assault and strangulation charges are felonies.
State police received a complaint on June 30, 2016, in which it was alleged that Barton had assaulted an unidentified person at the prison. State police declined to provide details on the incident.
In 2016, Barton was serving a sentence at Garner for a conviction on a second-degree assault charge, according to a state Department of Correction spokesman.
The Connecticut Judicial Branch’s electronic records system indicates that Barton has been convicted in five criminal cases dating back to 2010 involving drugs, escape, theft, assault, and weapons.
Barton was released from state police custody on $100,000 bail on February 20 for a March 7 arraignment on the charges at Connecticut Superior Court in Danbury.