Convicted child molester sentenced to 105 years prison

A 76-year-old Stevinson man convicted of sexually assaulting two children received a prison sentence Friday of 105 years to life, the Merced County District Attorney’s Office said.

Robert Lee Howard began molesting the two girls, to whom he is related, when they were each just 5 years old, prosecutors said. Howard on Friday received the maximum prison sentence possible from Judge Marc A. Garcia in Merced Superior Court.

“Obviously, I think it was the appropriate sentence; this was a horrible crime,” said Michael McKinney, the deputy district attorney who prosecuted the case.

Howard was convicted Sept. 29 by a Merced County jury that deliberated for less than two hours following a weeklong trial. He was found guilty in Merced Superior Court of forcible rape, oral copulation and sexual penetration, as well as seven counts of committing lewd acts upon a child under the age of 14, according to court records.

“I assume he’ll appeal the case, but I have not received any information regarding that possibility,” McKinney said.

Howard’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Kim Boortz, could not be reached for comment Friday.

Howard abused the first victim, who is now 23, in 1996 and continued the abuse until 1999. The second victim, now 14, was abused between 2005 and 2008. The attacks occurred at Howard’s home in Stevinson, prosecutors said.

Investigators obtained recordings of two conversations between Howard and one of the victims. In one of the conversations, Howard apologized to the girl, but told her what he did was “human nature,” according to prosecutors.

McKinney complimented the investigation conducted by Merced County sheriff’s Detective Clint Landrum.

Both McKinney and Landrum praised the bravery of the two victims in the case, who both testified during the trial. Both men said they hope the lengthy prison sentence helps the victims begin the long healing process.

“Any time you see someone have to get up in front of a room full of strangers and talk about repeated abuse they suffered; I just can’t imagine what they went through,” Landrum said. “I hope this (sentence) gives them all some measure of peace.”

This story was originally published December 19, 2014 at 7:19 PM with the headline "Convicted child molester sentenced to 105 years prison."