Friday, October 3, 2003
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Friday, October 3, 2003 |
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PTC man admits guilt for enticing daughter of former fiancee; molestation dropped By JOHN
MUNFORD
A Peachtree City man avoided prison by pleading guilty to a lesser charge in court Wednesday when he was originally accused of molesting his former fiancee's daughter. Robert Lee Silva, 41, of 312 Larkspur Turn, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Johnnie L. Caldwell Jr. to 10 years probation for enticing a child for indecent purposes. Caldwell also ruled that Silva must register as a sex offender, meaning he must notify authorities of his whereabouts if he moves elsewhere. Silva's attorney, Jim Barfield, said his client pled guilty to keep from forcing the victim, who is now 9 years old, to testify. Caldwell said he was only accepting the plea because Superior Court Judge Paschal A. English had previously accepted it and the accusations against Silva only involved touching the child and did not escalate from that point. Silva originally pled guilty to the charges Monday, but he decided at the last minute to withdraw his plea after his attorney had left the courtroom, officials said. Wednesday's guilty plea from Silva came just as the prosecution planned to present its first witness in the case. A jury was seated in the case Tuesday afternoon and opening statements had already concluded before Silva decided to plead guilty.
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