In the crosshairs
Civil lawsuit targets former Midlothian Supervisor Ed Barber
By Greg Pearson STAFF WRITER

J. Michael Sharman is an attorney on a mission, and his current mission has former Midlothian Supervisor Ed Barber squarely in his sights.

Sharman and Richmond attorneys David M. Hicks and Whitney Tymas filed a child-victim's lawsuit late last month against Barber. They plan to use Barber's plea agreement on sex charges to sue him for more than $7 million, further punishing a convicted child predator they feel got off too easy.

Through the plea agreement, Barber pled guilty last June to two counts of sexual battery against his teenage stepdaughter and received a two-year suspended sentence and three years of probation. As part the agreement, he admitted that he "touched the private parts of the victim against her will."

Barber resigned from his supervisor seat shortly thereafter.

The plea agreement allowed Barber to avoid a possible life sentence for two felony sex charges, but it didn't exclude any future civil action.

According to David Robinson, Barber's accountant, Barber still hasn't paid his attorney fees from last year's criminal case.  

Sharman

"Ed doesn't have money to hire an attorney," said Robinson. Barber is reported to have refinanced his home to pay some bills. Contacted via e-mail, Barber declined comment on the lawsuit. At press deadline,  the newspaper was unable to reach attorney John Gibney, who is now representing Barber in the case.

Advised of Barber's apparent financial status, Sharman replied, "What he did is not in dispute.

He'll only be accused of those things which he pled guilty to. So, the only question for the court is how much he'll have to pay."

Last June, Sam Kaufman, the attorney who represented Mark Pitts and Alexandra Waymack Pitts, the father and stepmother of the victim, said the 16-year-old did not want to testify. "We're satisfied that it's over for the victim," Kaufman said then.

The victim will probably still avoid testifying in the civil case since Sharman will rely heavily on the plea agreement.

The victim and her family, who live in Goochland County, first approached Hicks and Tymas, who contacted Sharman for his narrow specialty of law: "suing child molesters." Recently, the Culpeper attorney sued another man who pled guilty to sexual abuse of a 14-year-old babysitter. The jury recommended the abuser pay $50 million, the judge reduced it to $687,000, what Sharman had actually sued for. Though the amount was set aside, Sharman holds the record the "largest sexual assault jury verdict Virginia's history."

Elli Morris/Chesterfield Observer The victim's father Mark Pitts and her stepmother Alexandra Waymack Pitts caught the attention of local media last year during the legal process when Ed Barber accepted a plea agreement for abusing his stepdaughter.

"I want sexual predators to know that someone will be looking over their shoulders for the rest of their lives," said Sharman.

"Mr. Barber has assets so I don't think collecting the money will be a problem," he continued.

Barber owns and operates a mediation business and is a retired Chesterfield County teacher. As first reported by the ChesterfiObserver, Barber sued the county last year retirement benefits he said he was owed by school system. According to the lawsuit, Barber's retirement was accepted by then-Superintendent Billy Cannaday last June, but in August, the School Board fired him after learning about his plea agreement, effectively denying him those benefits. However, Barber ultimately dropped the suit.

"If he doesn't have any money now," Sharman advised, "we'll keep going after it."

Sharman's pursuit of defendants includes reversing bankruptcy filings, hiring bill collectors, and searching for parole violations and any illegal activity the defendant might be involved in. One abuser was found to be living at a location other than his published sex offender address. When Sharman located him, the police were informed, and they raided the residence, finding unregistered firearms and burglary tools. The abuser was arrested for illegal possession of firearms and grand larceny, and his probation was revoked.

"He has 60 years hanging over his head so he won't be out for a long time," said Sharman. "My client now owns his annuities."

"Probation requires obeying all the laws, so being in contempt [of court], including paying restitution, could mean a violation of probation," explained Sharman. "It puts that person at risk." Violating probation often means jail time.

Sharman also uses the media prior to being in the courtroom. Richmond media were notified of the lawsuit on Mar. 30 when they received an e-mailed press release and a copy of the court filing. Most civil actions are not reported by the press - often because the press doesn't know of their filings.

On Apr. 2, Sharman sent another press release announcing that Chesterfield Judge Michael C. Allen has been pre-assigned to the Barber case. The release included a link  to Barber's photo on the state's sex offender registry and alleged that Barber changed his appearance for the photo.

Sharman says the case against Barber is being brought "to reverse the sexual abuse victim's sense of powerlessness." His first press release reads "...the victim normally feels powerless over the perpetrator and over the judicial system. But when the victim files a civil lawsuit seeking large damages...the victim is in control, and the perpetrator now feels powerless...For the rest of his life, whatever Ed Barber owns and whatever he earns may be subject to being taken by the girl he sexually abused."

Personal injury cases often pay attorneys more money than they make on a per hour basis, the typical way attorneys are paid. Attorneys usually receive at least one-third of the money collected.

In addition to pursuing child molesters, Sharman works as a guardian ad litem for abused and neglected children. He also writes a weekly newspaper column for the Culpeper Star-Exponent and is the author of "Faith of the Fathers: Religion and Matters of Faith Contained in the Presidents' Inaugural Addresses from George Washington to George W. Bush." He is currently writing "Endowed by Our Creator: Documentary Evidence of Our Christian Heritage."

Sharman has a B.A. in international relations from Mary Washington College, a J.D. from the University of Wyoming College of Law, and an LL.M. in international taxation from Regent University.