Man, 75, found guilty of 10 charges including rape
PRISON officers might be left caring for a rapist, as he loses his memory to dementia, the Royal Court heard.
Roger Robinson, 75, had denied a total of 10 charges – one of rape, one of committing an act of gross indecency with a child, and eight indecent assaults. But he was found guilty at trial and sentenced to a total of 14 years in prison.
The offences spanned 1971 to 2017 and involved four different females.
Judge Russell Finch said it was clear the offending had had a nasty effect on the females, one of whom was as young as six when the offence took place. He noted that there were years of abuse and only now, after the trial, did Robinson make limited admissions about one of the victims.
Defence advocate Paul Lockwood said he understood these crimes were grave and only an immediate, substantial custodial sentence was appropriate.
He asked the court to note his client had only a disorderly behaviour matter on his record.
Robinson has a number of health problems, including diabetes and high cholesterol. Mr Lockwood said his client had also been diagnosed with vascular dementia, which would see his memory fade over time. This meant the prison service might have to care for a man who did not understand why he was incarcerated.
He described Robinson as ‘frail and elderly’ and he would only become frailer in prison.
He said his client was estranged from his family.
The first complaint against Robinson was made in 1987, when he was arrested at his then place of work, Warry’s Bakery.
He was interviewed by police, but the matter was not pursued at the time.
Two of his victims now lived in the UK and two were still juveniles.
His youngest victim was six when he indecently assaulted her, while another was 17 or 18 when he raped her. One was between seven and 13 at the time, while another was 10 or 11.
Two of the indecent assault charges were specimen ones, meaning it was the prosecution case that the offending was regular and repeated over a period of time.
During the trial the defendant had argued that the four females had fabricated stories about him, but said he did not know why.
Robinson was sentenced to nine years in prison for the rape of victim A, and five years each for the indecent assaults of A, which run concurrent to the nine years.
Five years was handed down for each of the six other indecent assaults, which run concurrent to each other but consecutive to the other first three charges.
A four-year prison sentence was given for the gross indecency matter, which runs concurrent to the others, giving a total of 14 years. An 18-year notification period was ordered from the date of the trial and a five-year extended sentence was also given. Conditions included Robinson not approaching any of the victims or any female child under 18 without permission from his supervisor.
Judge Finch said Robinson still posed a risk to pubescent and pre-pubescent females.
