PA Pediatrician Who Molested Infants, Toddlers Gets Up To 158 Yrs

A 71-year-old former pediatrician was sentenced to 79 to 158 years in prison Monday for sexually assaulting 31 children — some as young as two weeks old — at his Pennsylvania medical practice.

Johnnie Barto had previously pleaded guilty in Cambria County court to charges stemming from the sexual abuse of more than two dozen children over the course of several years.

Some of Barto's victims were family members who were assaulted during family gatherings and others were patients brought to his doctor’s office for treatment, according to Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

In addition to the 31 incidents of assault charged, at least a half-dozen other cases could not be prosecuted because of the criminal statute of limitations, the Attorney General noted.

Authorities said Barto assaulted both male and female patients in examination rooms at Laurel Pediatric Associates in Johnstown, as well as at hospitals in that area. Victims were as young as two weeks old. Many were between 8 and 12 years old, and two were toddlers, the Attorney General said.

According to impact statements offered by victims, Barto carried out the sexual assaults in the office even when unsuspecting parents were in the room. "While his actions were brief, they were damaging. They impacted my life in how I view myself, including my self-worth and self-esteem," one victim wrote.

“This was a horrendous series of crimes,” Shapiro said at a news conference following the sentencing. “Dr. Barto used his authority as a pediatrician – the family doctor everyone relied on to treat their children – as a cloak to feed his own sick desires. He held himself out as a pillar in his community – a family pediatrician, an elected member of the school board, a regular attendee at church."

Rumors about Dr. Barto and his possible abuse of children patients swirled among the community for years, according to information from Shapiro. A complaint about Barto was heard by the state licensing board for physicians in 1999. That board cleared him, however, allowing him to resume his pediatrician practice.

Authorities with the Attorney General’s office began investigating Barto in December 2017, after the family of a 12-year-old girl told police that the doctor had sexually assaulted her in his office.

Investigators with the Attorney General's office, working with Richland police, brought an initial set of charges against Barto in January 2018. A special hotline was then established to take calls from additional victims. Agents followed up and investigated multiple tips and additional charges against Barto were filed in March, April, and July.