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Father, Fiancee Sentenced in Chesterfield Child Abuse Case

TL;DR: A former Henrico police officer and teacher were sentenced to decades in prison for abusing two elementary-aged boys over years, with Chesterfield's grandmother saying years of missed school counselor reports allowed the abuse to continue.

The story

Separate Chesterfield County Circuit Court judges have sentenced a former Henrico County police officer and a former Henrico County teacher to decades in prison for systematically abusing the officer's two sons over multiple years.

Bhalmiki Maharaj was sentenced May 7, 2026, to 20 years in prison. Barbara Paul, his fiancee, was sentenced November 3, 2025, to 132 years and 102 months in prison. Maharaj pleaded guilty to child abuse and neglect, assault and battery, malicious wounding, and child cruelty. Paul was found guilty on all 42 charges related to child abuse.

Court evidence documented physical abuse inflicted by both defendants. Prosecutors presented Ring camera footage from inside the home showing Paul berating, kicking, slapping and punching the older child while he performed squat jumps. Maharaj admitted to hitting the older boy with a slipper for inadequate exercise performance and breaking an 11-year-old's femur with a 5-pound dumbbell in summer 2022. Paul's abuse included strangling, punching, kicking the children and forcing them to perform excessive exercise as punishment for minor infractions like failing to guess a word or forgetting their planner.

During Maharaj's sentencing hearing, he became visibly emotional while watching the abuse videos, prompting a brief recess. Judge Robbins noted that Maharaj had "a special responsibility to his sons" and that any decent person would have intervened. Judge Johnson, sentencing Paul, characterized her actions as stemming from an "evil mind" and compared her methods of "physical torture, unrelenting questions and shrill profanities" to interrogation techniques used by former Soviet authorities.

The grandmother of the boys, Angela Fountain, expressed relief at the convictions but frustration with systemic failures that allowed the abuse to continue unchecked. She stated that "somebody dropped the ball on my boys and it continued for seven years, eight years."

School counselors at Evergreen Elementary documented visible bruising and the children's disclosures of being hit with belts and pencils, filing five reports to Child Protective Services beginning in 2018. A November 2021 report indicated police would interview the child, but a later entry stated "Not that we know of"—no officer ever came. Chesterfield County confirmed no records of these five reports exist in the state's official child welfare database, despite testimony that reports were made. Judge Robbins acknowledged the failure in court: "Reports were made, people were told, and you would think in 2026 we would be someplace other than where we are."

Key players

• Bhalmiki Maharaj: Defendant, former Henrico County police officer and father of the victims
• Barbara Paul: Defendant, former Henrico County teacher and fiancee of Maharaj
• Angela Fountain: Grandmother of the victims
• Judge Edward Robbins: Chesterfield County Circuit Court judge who sentenced Maharaj
• Judge David E. Johnson: Chesterfield County Circuit Court judge who sentenced Paul

Key dates

• 2018: First school counselor report filed to CPS after observing visible bruising and child disclosures
• Summer 2022: Maharaj breaks 11-year-old's femur with 5-pound dumbbell
• November 2021: Police report indicates officer will interview child but no interview occurs
• October 2024: Abuse discovered
• July 2025: Bhalmiki Maharaj pleads guilty to child abuse and neglect, assault and battery, malicious wounding, and child cruelty
• November 3, 2025: Barbara Paul sentenced to 132 years and 102 months
• May 7, 2026: Bhalmiki Maharaj sentenced to 20 years

Why it matters: This case exposes critical failures in the child protection system, with school counselors' reports apparently lost or ignored for years while abuse continued. For Chesterfield residents, it raises questions about how agencies coordinate and respond to suspected child abuse reports.

Places

• Evergreen Elementary School
• Chesterfield County Circuit Court

Related links

• Chesterfield County Adult Criminal Cases

Read the original at WTVR CBS 6 (YouTube) →

Sources

• Grandmother says systemic failures let boys' abuse continue for years in Chesterfield: 'Nothing was done'
• Former Henrico officer sobs in court watching videos of him and his fiancée abusing his kids: 'It is ghastly'
• Former Henrico teacher's abuse of stepsons came from 'evil mind,' judge says
• Former Henrico officer sobs in court, sentenced to 20 years for abusing his children