Robenhorst sentenced to 25 years for child sex assault

Convicted by jury, Little Suamico man continues to maintain his innocence
By: 
Warren Bluhm
Editor-in-chief

A former Oconto County assistant district attorney took the unusual step Oct. 20 of asking a judge to impose the maximum 325-year sentence for a Little Suamico man convicted of seven child sexual assault charges.

Judge Jay N. Conley did sentence Randall J. Robenhorst, to 25 years in prison, followed by 15 years of extended supervision. At the conclusion of a two-day trial in February, a jury deliberated for slightly over an hour before finding Robenhorst guilty of three counts of first-degree child sexual assault, child enticement, and three other related felony counts.

The jury had heard testimony that Robenhorst routinely assaulted a girl for four years beginning when she was 3 years old.

“Usually when people hear the word ‘monster,’ they think of the monster that hides under the bed or the monster in the dark woods,” the victim, now 17, said as the sentencing hearing began. “That is not the monster I think of. When I hear the word ‘monster,’ the first thing that pops up in my head is you.”

The girl detailed some of the acts that Robenhorst committed and said “you traumatized me for the rest of my life,” but added that she has worked to get her life together and is finally getting good grades and learning to love in a more healthy way.

“You have completely changed me in ways I never wanted,” she said, but added,“You may think that you damaged me, but you never knocked me down.”

When the victim finished her statement, Robenhorst said, “Whoa,” and applauded quietly, earning a reproach from Conley.

Dane County Assistant District Attorney Lisa Rowe, who has worked the case from the start when she was Oconto County ADA, cited Robenhorst’s extensive criminal record, including a 2009 conviction for arson, reading from an investigator’s notes that he said he set fire to his own house because he “was having a bad day,” including a ticket he had received the night before.

“Mr. Robenhorst is a loose cannon,” Rowe said. “He cannot control himself; he acts out in ways that are dangerous to not only himself but the entire community over what normal people would consider very small issues.”

In this latest case, Robenhorst continues to maintain his innocence and has promised to appeal his conviction, but the jury had to decide who was telling the truth and returned “a decisive and pretty quick verdict” finding him guilty on all charges, Rowe said.

“Not only did he commit these horrible acts against this child, he took the stand and lied about it,” she said. “He committed perjury, which is victimizing his victim a second time.”

The author of a pre-sentence investigation recommended a 25-year prison term followed by 17 years of supervision, Rowe noted, adding that Robenhorst refused to cooperate with the investigator.

“For someone as dangerous as Randall Robenhorst, I don’t think it’s enough,” she said. I think we’ve overlooked red flags in the past, we’ve given him a pass or the benefit of the doubt on many crimes for which he has been convicted — 12 before we came to this trial — he’s been given chances and second chances. I think we say to him, with this sentence, this is it.”

Rowe said Robenhorst “well and richly deserved” the maximum 325 years.

“I’m asking you to put him in a place where he can no longer light houses on fire when he gets a ticket, where he can no longer sexually abuse toddlers repeatedly,” she said.

Defense attorney Brent Debord countered with a request for 10 years in prison plus 10 years of supervision.

“The state’s recommendations here are not justice, they’re vengeance,” Debord said. “If the prosecutor could take the defendant out and hang him, she would.”

Robenhorst didn’t participate in the pre-sentence investigation because he’s angry about the jury’s verdict, said Debord, who was not the defendant’s trial attorney.

“He has every right to feel that justice did not happen to him, that’s why we have the appellate process, and today my purpose is to get him into a position where he can begin that appellate process and possibly get some satisfaction through that system,” he said.

When it was his turn to make a statement, Robenhorst again denied all wrongdoing.

“A lot of these allegations are hearsay, there’s nobody ever taken to a hospital, the police were never called to check out (the victim) during this time,” he said. “I’m not a pedophile … I’m going for appeal, I have never touched (the victim) in any wrongful way.”

As he handed down the sentence, Conley noted the presence in the courtroom not only of the victim and several family members and supporters, but also about a half-dozen people who sat behind Robenhorst and sent letters in the belief he’s innocent.

Robenhorst has filed numerous materials that “may well be relevant to post-conviction motions,” but the purpose of the Oct. 20 was to sentence him in accordance with the jury’s findings, Conley said.

“Mr. Robenhorst is claiming that he’s innocent, his supporters believe that he’s innocent, well, the jury found him guilty,” he said. “I think all of us in this courtroom could agree that somebody that commits these offenses deserves a significant sentence. The argument here is that he didn’t do it, not that these crimes aren’t horrible.”

Conley ticked off the various factors he had to consider in determining a sentence, including protection of the community, the seriousness of the crime, punishment, and the defendant’s character.

“I have to find his character to be poor. These crimes say the worst thing you could about anybody’s character, but even for Mr. Robenhorst’s supporters who think he’s innocent, the past record’s terrible,” Conley said. “You have a lousy record, Mr. Robenhorst — even not looking at this case, I can’t find you to be of good character. You have criminal convictions going back to 1979.”

The judge said he found the pre-sentence investigator’s recommendation as reasonable. Even reduced by the 433 days he spent in jail awaiting trial and sentencing, Robenhorst would be in his mid-80s before he qualifies to get out of prison, Conley said.