Rockford resident Victor D. Barr was convicted of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in the early 2000s for having sex with a girl who attended the public high school where he taught math.
He was required to register as a sex offender, with his name, photo and address displayed on a publicly accessible Illinois State Police database for the rest of his life.
Barr’s name is now surfacing on a different list — of campaign contributors to Darren Bailey, the Republican candidate for Illinois governor.
Barr and his household made two contributions this year to the Bailey for Illinois campaign account, one for $700 in a donation dated in April and another for $400 in a donation dated in June, according to records maintained by the Illinois State Board of Elections.
A spokesperson for Bailey says of Barr: “We did not know his background. … We’re going to find a charity and donate it. … We’re committed to making it right.”
Also in June, Bailey attended a service at the Rockford Faith Center, a nondenominational Christian church where, since his conviction, Barr has become one of the pastors under Apostle Marla Lyon Eash, according to online accounts and interviews.
“This past Sunday at Faith Center was powerful for many reasons, but one moment before the message truly stood out,” read Faith Center’s Facebook post. “Pastor Marla had the opportunity to pray over Darren Bailey and his wife — not because he came to campaign, but because he came to worship.”
“Scripture calls us to pray for those in authority. Not because any person, party or candidate is perfect — none are. Every leader is human. Every person has flaws. But when someone steps into the brutal, messy, often vicious world of politics with a heart to honor God, serve people and stand for what they believe is right, they need prayer.”
Bailey’s spokesperson says: “Darren speaks at a lot of churches. Honestly … we go to African American churches, major Protestant, nondenominational churches. … He goes everywhere.”
A conservative former legislator from downstate, where he’s a farmer, Bailey is facing off against Gov. JB Pritzker, a liberal Democrat from Chicago, in the Nov. 3 general election.
Four years ago, Bailey was also the GOP nominee and ran against Pritzker, who won by more than 500,000 votes.
A month or so before that 2022 election, Barr contributed $2,000 to Bailey’s campaign, records show.
Eash says Bailey visited the Faith Center during that campaign, too.
There’s no rule barring sex offenders from giving money to political causes, but sensitive to the optics, many campaigns would likely refuse their contributions if they knew of a donor’s history.
Reached at his home in recent days, Barr, 69, indicated he has no connection to Bailey but is a “philosophical supporter, that’s what I would say.”
Barr describes himself as “a believer in Jesus Christ” and says Bailey, an evangelical Christian, has “Christian values.”
Although the Faith Center has a youth ministry, Eash says Barr has nothing to do with it and is “a wonderful man. He’s a blessing to our church.”
“He’s not a sex offender. That might have been his past life,” she says, adding he’s been “truly transformed.”
“If I don’t believe in redemption, then I shouldn’t be a pastor,” she says.
Barr taught at Rockford’s East High School and was once nominated for a Golden Apple Award for “excellence in teaching,” according to published accounts. His victim was a 17-year-old female student whom he repeatedly had sexual relations with, including at the school, according to court records.
Barr was in a “position of trust” over the victim and abused her for “the purpose of sexual gratification,” court records say.
He pleaded guilty in 2003. His current home is about a mile from East High School.