Northampton man sentenced for taking indecent liberties with a child

By Linda Cicoira

A 58-year-old Cape Charles area man was sentenced to a year and three months of active time in jail Monday in Northampton Circuit Court for taking indecent liberties with a child, who considered him to be a grandfather figure.

Judge Lynwood W. Lewis Jr. sentenced Charles Robbins, of Cherrystone Road, to 10 years in prison with all but the active time suspended. Robbins has already served about four months in the Eastern Shore Regional Jail in Eastville.

Lewis refused to grant the defendant bond while he appeals the conviction. He also denied the defense’s request to set aside the verdict, which was rendered by a 12-member jury last year.

Defense lawyer Jameson Rasberry said, “The jury made a mistake. There was no lasciviousness.” He also claimed a polygraph showed Robbins “appears truthful in his denial” of the charge.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Jack Thornton said polygraphs are inherently unreliable.

“I don’t think that’s appropriate,” Lewis said. handing the document back to the defense lawyer. Lewis relied on a psychosexual evaluation.

Robbins was convicted of the felony because he showed the victim photos of animals, amongst which were pictures of his privates. Investigators found the photos on Robbins’ cell phone. Robbins was acquitted of the other charges, including acting lasciviously when he touched the girl.

“I’m not deceptive,” Robbins told the court just before he was sentenced. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Lewis said he agreed with Thornton that Robbins had been exhibiting “grooming behavior.” Grooming has been described as a calculated process designed to reduce a child’s inhibitions, lower their defenses, and ensure they do not report the abuse.

Upon release, Robbins will be on supervised probation and good behavior for five years. The “psychosexual report recommends sex offender treatment and would be beneficial,” Lewis added.

Robbins is to have no contact with the victim or her family. He was also advised to tell his family and other children he treats like grandchildren to stop harassing the victim at school. Robbins is also required to register as a sex offender.

Rasberry said Robbins was considered to have “a below-average risk to reoffend. He is well integrated into the community. A lot has been made about his going to a football game, (which the victim was expected to attend). He was there to help out with the band,” his lawyer said. “He was acquitted of four of five counts.

“He will appeal the conviction,” Rasberry continued. The lawyer told the judge that seven months “is more than sufficient … We respect the jury’s verdict. He is otherwise a pillar in this community.”

The girl’s grandmother and her great aunt disagreed.

The grandmother said police made him leave a children’s Halloween gathering in Cheriton because he brought a machete with him to the affair. Her granddaughter is in therapy twice a week and is afraid of older men, she said.

“She’s been harassed almost every day… she woke her mother up the other day. (She was) bleeding from cutting her whole arm up,” said the grandmother. “This is constant trauma for her … people are on Facebook talking about things they don’t know about … he’s not taking responsibility for what he’s done … I regret meeting Charles Robbins.”

The great aunt wants the harassment to stop. “You devastated our family. We are going to be much stronger.” She told him to tell his family to leave her now 15-year-old niece alone. “So, all of us can move on with our lives. … You’re a vile individual,” she said.