Child Reportedly Handcuffed and Beaten by Mother and Stepfather: Police Investigation Underway

In a disturbing case out of Arizona, a mother and stepfather have been charged with allegedly handcuffing their 9-year-old son to a dining table and physically assaulting him with a tree branch. The couple reportedly claimed they intended to demonstrate the consequences faced by “bad kids,” according to police reports.

Rita Barr and her husband, Staffon Barr, admitted to investigators in Tolleson that they were punishing the child for an incident that occurred on the school bus on May 5. This information was detailed in an arrest affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime. The police investigation included interviews with the couple, the child victim, and his sibling.

The affidavit reveals the young boy’s stepfather, who is employed at a juvenile detention center, aimed to give the child a taste of what “bad kids” experience. The boy disclosed that his stepfather initially handcuffed him with his hands behind his back, but he managed to bring them to the front before being secured to the table.

Both the boy and his sister recounted to authorities that the Barrs had a pattern of beating him with a “tree branch,” a disciplinary tool recovered from their master bathroom. The affidavit highlights this method as a regular form of punishment for misbehavior.

The sister further informed police that she had previously intervened when her mother struck her brother with a stick taken from their yard, which is routinely stored inside the house for such purposes.

The incident came to light after the boy sought help at school, requesting to visit the nurse due to pain in his arm and chest, as detailed in the affidavit.

“[The victim] disclosed to the school nurse that sometime yesterday … his stepfather handcuffed him to a dining room table and covered his mouth while his mother hit him with a tree branch multiple times,” the affidavit alleges.

The school nurse identified and observed “visible injuries” on the child’s chest and right arm, which police say “appeared linear and consistent with the range of motion of being struck” with the “tree branch/stick” that was recovered from the family’s home, according to the affidavit.

The Tolleson Police Department‘s Criminal Investigations Bureau and the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) were notified by the school nurse and an investigation was launched, which led to the interviews with the family.

The Barrs each gave “conflicting statements” about what happened, according to the affidavit, with Rita Barr allegedly claiming they used a “foot-long ruler” with a “sharp metal edge” to strike her son, while Staffon Barr alleged that it was a “leaf from a fake plant inside the residence.”

Rita Barr said they started beating the boy after showing him YouTube videos “on what happens to children when they commit crimes and get arrested,” according to the affidavit. Court records show that Staffon Barr works at the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections.

“Tolleson Police located the defendant’s duty belt in the back seat of the Nissan Altima wrapped in a white blanket,” the affidavit says. “On the duty belt was a single handcuff pouch containing a single pair of stainless-steel handcuffs with the name ‘Barr’ printed on one of the cuffs.”

The victim told investigators that while he was handcuffed and beaten, he began “screaming and crying,” which prompted Staffon Barr to cover his mouth with his hand “so the neighbors would not hear what was happening,” according to the affidavit.

“The victim said the defendant’s hand was originally over his mouth and nose, impeding his breathing,” the affidavit alleges. “The victim said that the defendant then moved his hand down to only cover his mouth while his mother struck him with a brown belt on his chest and his arm.”

The Barrs are both facing felony child abuse and aggravated assault charges. They were being held on bond last week and are due in court on May 13.