SC judge bans man from seeing his 85-year-old mom ever again after neglect, abuse case
A York County man who abused his elderly, disabled mother for months is banned from ever seeing her again, a judge has ruled.
Yet Harvey Micah Barlow, 45, will not go to prison because he has already spent six months in jail pending trial, testimony showed.
Barlow accepted a plea deal Wednesday in court, acknowledging prosecutors had substantial evidence showing he abused and neglected a vulnerable adult.
The plea deal, called an Alford plea, included a permanent restraining order barring Barlow seeing his mother again as long as she lives.
“What that means, Mr. Barlow, is you can have no contact with your mother ever again,” York County Circuit Court Judge Dan Hall told Barlow in court.
Another part of the plea agreement is Barlow receive time served for his crime of abusing his mother, testimony showed. Barlow had been in jail since his arrest by York County Sheriff’s Office deputies in June.
Barlow did not speak in court other than to plead guilty.
Erin Joyner, 16th Circuit assistant solicitor, said in court Barlow emotionally, and at times physically, abused his disabled mother.
“He said some very vicious things over several months,” Joyner said in court.
Barlow also pushed and slapped his mother, Joyner said.
The mom told deputies Barlow told her “just die,” according to a police incident report in the case. Police found out about the abuse from the S.C. Department of Social Services, records show.
Prosecutors had evidence Barlow took his mother’s money she received each month from Social Security, Joyner said. That financial charge against Barlow was dismissed as part of a negotiated plea agreement with Barlow, court testimony showed.
The mother has new living arrangements and caregivers, Joyner said in court.
Barlow pleaded guilty under what is called an Alford plea, in which a defendant does not have to admit guilt. An Alford plea means that the evidence in the case strongly supports that Barlow would be found guilty if the case went to trial, Judge Hall said in court. Sentencing in an Alford plea is treated the same by the court as a guilty plea, testimony showed.
This story was originally published December 19, 2019 at 9:54 AM with the headline "SC judge bans man from seeing his 85-year-old mom ever again after neglect, abuse case."
