Stephen Baril Faced Rape and Forcible Sodomy Charges. He Admitted Sexual Battery and Got Probation.

 

Stephen Dalton Baril Was Accused of Rape. He Admitted Sexual Battery and Got Probation.

Stephen Dalton Baril was a University of Virginia student when a fellow student accused him of restraining and raping her in January 2017.

According to reports, the woman suffered bruising and bites. Baril later texted her, “I’m sorry if I got overly excited.”

He was initially charged with felony rape and felony forcible sodomy.

In 2018, Baril entered an Alford plea, meaning he maintained his innocence while acknowledging prosecutors had enough evidence to potentially convict him, to misdemeanor sexual battery and felony unlawful wounding.

The original rape and forcible sodomy charges were not convictions, and that distinction matters.

His sentence was five years of supervised probation.

No prison.

Baril came from a politically prominent Virginia family. His grandfather, John Dalton, had served as Virginia's Republican governor, and his father, Steve Baril, had previously run for Virginia attorney general.

None of that changes the central record.

Stephen Baril entered pleas to sexual battery and felony unlawful wounding. He received probation instead of prison.