http://www.vvdailypress.com/cgi-bin/newspro/viewnews.cgi?newsid987298017,12151,
Adelanto man takes molestation plea
for weekends in jail
court: The parents of one young victim say they
expected harsher sentence.
By SCOTT VANHORNE/Staff Writer
VICTORVILLE A 20-year-old Adelanto man accused of
molesting two young girls accepted a plea bargain allowing
him to admit to a misdemeanor charge and serve 210 days
in jail on weekends.
Scott Gilmans sentence, handed down in Victorville
Superior Court Friday, infuriated one victims family.
I was thinking he would get three to five years in state
prison; no less, Winford Roberson said.
It makes me feel like hes doing a part-time job at his own
convenience, Kim Roberson said.
In 1998 when the couples daughter was 3 years old,
Gilman reportedly took the girl into a bathroom at the
Jehovahs Witnesses Kingdom Hall in Adelanto and
molested her in one of the stalls.
Church officials did an internal investigation of the incident
and determined nothing had happened. The girls parents
later reported the molestation to the Adelanto Police
Department, according to court records.
Gilman was also accused of molesting a 4-year-old girl in
her playhouse.
The District Attorneys office filed two charges of lewd acts
with a child against Gilman in April 1999, and the case
dragged on until the defendant pleaded guilty to annoying or
molesting a child, a misdemeanor, earlier this year.
The other felony charge was dropped in accordance with
the plea bargain.
If Gilman had been convicted on both of the original
charges, he would have faced three to 10 years in state
prison. Gilmans attorney, Rollin Rauschl, said his client
has maintained his innocence since the beginning of the
ordeal.
Rather than go to trial, my client agreed to take a plea
bargain, Rauschl said. In his wildest dreams, he never
thought picking up a child would be child annoyance.
Rauschl said prosecutors offered the deal because they
knew the case against Gilman was weak. Both victims
were very young, and the investigation into the allegations
didnt start until more than nine months after the incidents
reportedly occurred, he said.
Deputy District Attorney Connie Standley, who handled the
case, was not available for comment.
Probation Officer Monica Stidham interviewed Gilman before
he was sentenced and recommended that he serve more
time in jail than the plea bargain allowed.
The truth is Mr. Gilman could still be a danger to the
community if allowed to do weekends without getting some
counseling before he is released to the community, she
wrote. It is strongly recommended that Mr. Gilman serve
360 straight days in county jail.
Besides the jail time, Gilman must also register as a sex
offender for the rest of his life, pay the Robersons more than
$3,000 in restitution and serve three years supervised
probation.
Meanwhile, the Robersons have moved to Los Angeles
County. They said they wanted to get away from the High
Desert and all the memories it holds.
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