EBENSBURG, Pa.—A former Pennsylvania pediatrician was sentenced to at least 79 years in prison on Monday, March 18, for the sexual assault of 31 children, most of them patients, in a case that state medical regulators failed to act on nearly two decades ago.
Dr. Johnnie Barto of Johnstown was sentenced on dozens of counts, including aggravated indecent assault and child endangerment. Prosecutors say he spent decades abusing boys and girls in the exam room at his pediatric practice in western Pennsylvania and at local hospitals, with his victims typically ranging in age from 8 to 12. One was an infant.
