When a New York father decided on a whim to take his teen daughter to Michael Jackson’s childhood home in Gary during a cross-county trip looking at colleges, they unwittingly crossed paths with Oasia Barnes.

Barnes, 70, of Gary, was accused of robbing cash from the man, then forcing him and his daughter, then 16, by gunpoint from the popular tourist attraction on Aug. 9, 2024, taking them to a nearby abandoned home, separating the girl and forcing her to perform a sex act in an overgrown field.

He later fondled her behind a home on the 2200 block of Washington Street, records allege, before a Gary police officer later found them there with a third man.

Barnes was charged with 17 felonies, ranging from Level 1 felony rape to sexual battery. The jury, deliberating 25 minutes, found him guilty on all counts.

He indicated he will appeal.

Prosecutors added gun and repeat sexual offender enhancements a month before trial, which made up 15 years of his prison sentence.

Records show he is a convicted serial rapist, dating back to the 1970s and was released from a 1985 Gary rape sentence on March 18, 2024 — almost five months before the assault.

What happened to them was “absolutely horrible,” Deputy Prosecutor Tara Villarreal said Wednesday, later adding Barnes “deserves to die in prison.”

The sentencing was rescheduled last month, but ultimately the victims did not attend.

Villarreal read a letter from the girl, who was 17 when she testified at trial. Her sense of safety was “completely shattered.” She was constantly looking over her shoulder and avoiding social situations.

“I don’t feel free in my own life,” she wrote.

Unfortunately, the victims “didn’t know anything about the city of Gary,” Villarreal said. Barnes was there “looking for his next prey.”

He had the “chance to live in freedom” after his release and threw it away, she said. He was an “absolute monster.”

The victim’s mother was still living overseas, waiting to move to the U.S. when this all happened. Imagine “getting that phone call,” the prosecutor said.

Barnes was remorseless, she argued, noting he said in pre-sentencing paperwork that he never should have been convicted. She asked for 115 years.

Defense lawyer Bob Varga said Barnes left home at 15 and spent a “great deal of his life” in prison. He had a heart attack in recent years and other health problems. He asked for “any leniency” possible.

Judge Samuel Cappas asked Barnes if he wanted to speak on his own behalf.

“No, sir,” he responded.

Cappas noted Barnes had rape or attempted rape cases from 1971, 1976, 1978 and 1984. He was on parole for the last rape case when the attack happened.

Barnes needed to be “separated from society” and was “every female’s nightmare,” he said.

“Unfortunately for him, this is going to be his death sentence, probably and rightfully so,” Cappas said. The sentence was “probably what he should have gotten a long time ago, so that this could never happen again.”

Post-Tribune archives contributed.

mcolias@post-trib.com