Suspended sentence for OK man in child neglect case

JAY, Okla. — A former Delaware County man pleaded guilty and received a 20-year suspended sentence for his involvement in the mistreatment of a three-month-old malnourished infant.

Online records show that Adam Victor Barfield, 38, of Elgin, entered a plea to child neglect in Delaware County District Court in Jay on Dec. 6. He was also fined and will be on probation during the suspended sentence. Initially, he was to serve two months in the Department of Corrections but was given credit for the time he served.

Barfield was charged in February 2020 in Delaware County District Court with child neglect after the infant was diagnosed with severe malnutrition and dehydration.

Court records show its weight dropping from 8 pounds, 14 ounces at birth to 6 pounds, 2 ounces when Barfield and the child’s mother, Sandy Jenette Gaston, 36, of Afton, were arrested.

The infant was described as “ashen, malnourished, lethargic and dehydrated” when it was admitted to St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa in Aug. 2019, the affidavit states.

Gaston was also charged with child neglect. She pleaded guilty in Feb. 2021 and received a 20-year suspended sentence except for 60 days served in the Delaware County jail on weekends.   

Online records show Gaston was admitted to a treatment center and graduated from the community sentencing program.  

The child was placed in state custody.