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Phillips man sentenced to six years in sex case

4 mins read
Robert Parker, Jr. (FCSD photo)
Robert Parker, Jr. (FCSD photo)

FARMINGTON – A Phillips man was sentenced to six years in prison Tuesday, having previously pleaded guilty to having sexual intercourse with a juvenile in 2013.

Robert Parker Jr., 44 of Phillips, was sentenced to six years in prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release. He will be a lifetime registrant with the state in accordance with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

In May, Parker pleaded guilty to gross sexual assault, a Class A felony, as well as a misdemeanor count of endangering the welfare of a child.

According to evidence the state intended to present if the case had gone to trial, summarized in May by Assistant District Attorney James Andrews, Parker moved into the home of the victim in 2013, when she was 9 years old. The victim told investigators that Parker gave her cigarettes, candy and soda, eventually engaging in a sex act, sometime between June 22 and Sept. 22, 2013.

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Department first became involved with Parker on Sept. 23, after deputies responded to Phillips on a complaint. Initial charges involved the providing of cigarettes to two minors, with the case later expanding to include the gross sexual assault charge.

While being held at the Windham Correctional Facility, a letter written by Parker was intercepted by corrections officers after it was returned to the prison. In it, Andrews said, Parker told an acquaintance that he had engaged in a sexual act with the victim. Additionally, Andrews said, Parker told a cellmate about the relationship.

The arranged plea included an eight-year cap on the prison sentence, which would be entirely unsuspended. The 15 years of supervised release was by agreement.

In Franklin County Superior Court Tuesday, Andrews argued for eight years in prison. He said that considerable “mitigation” had already been extended to Parker, acknowledging the man had largely taken responsibility for his actions and spared the victim from having to testify at trial. The arranged sentence was in part a result of difficulties inherent to the case, Andrews went on to say, noting that there had been other sex offenders and potential victims in the same household, which would have complicated the state’s case at trial.

Parker’s attorney, Walter Hanstein, argued for six years incarceration, pointing to Parker’s limited, misdemeanor criminal record and the man’s willingness to take responsibility for his actions. Parker had already spent a year in custody, Hanstein said, and roughly half of that time had been spent in prison due to a shortage of space in the county jail system.

Parker addressed Justice Nancy Mills, saying: “I’m really sorry, your honor, for what I did. I’m going to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Parker intended to apply for entry into the sex offender counseling RULE program at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham, Hanstein said. Mills indicated that the court intended to fashion a sentence that would emphasis rehabilitation rather than purely punishment, as Parker would be in his 60s upon being discharged from supervised release into the community.

“Sixty years old,” Mills said, “is not that old.”

Mills sentenced Parker to six years in prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release. Parker also received a 364-day sentence on the misdemeanor count of endangering a child, to be served concurrent to the prison sentence.

(Editor’s note: The author of this story is related to attorney Walter Hanstein.)

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5 Comments

  1. He only gets six years for what he had done. And this poor child will suffer emotionally and mentally probably for the rest of her life because of Mr. Parker actions. When will Maine wake up and start cracking down on sex offenders and stop giving these people a slap on the wrist.

  2. I concur — a 44 yo coercing a 9 yo into intercourse is really crossing line on many levels. The profile of this type of person is not one I would expect to stay on the straight and narrow. It is indicative of severely maladaptive psychology.

    The prosecutor also states the case was complicated by “other s. offenders in the house”. ???? Why are minors and s. offenders under the same roof? Where are the parole officers, social workers, and anyone else that should be raising alarm bells about a house with multiple s. offenders living and interacting with minors??????

    and this child, I hope the state now intervenes to ensure she receives healthy care, supervision, counseling

  3. If this was a dog that was abused, I bet that there would be more comments about it . It’s really sad when animals get more respect and compassion from our community than our children do.

  4. I don’t think so much that it is a difference between care of animals over kids Sarge—I think it’s that people like to believe they live in a place where things like this don’t happen……and it is easier to block it out and avoid thinking or posting about it, in an attempt to maintain their belief/fantasy that it wouldn’t be happening in their town, neighborhood, family…….

    This happens everywhere, but especially bad here. I have heard over and over and over horrific stories of abuse in families around here….but it’s all whispers. Nobody wants to risk being the one to come right out and say it……..even though in this day and age you can do so anonymously to law enforcement or an organization that advocates for victims/help such as Safe Voices.

    Everyone has heard the reputations of “certain areas” around here for having a higher incidence of this kind of abuse as well.

    Instead of “whispering”, if residents really suspect something is not right at a certain home, certain person, certain child—- go talk to law enforcement or Safe Voices.

    If this community really wants it to be a place where this kind of terrible abuse doesn’t happen— then the entire community needs to get off it’s tuckus and do something about it. Because —this stuff is happening here A LOT.

  5. I have to believe many others feel the same as me and chose not to comment out of respect for the victim.

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