SHREVEPORT, Feb. 21, 2018-
A Shreveport man pled guilty to molestation charges Tuesday, February 20, 2018 in Caddo District Court. Robert Lee Minniear, 84, of Shreveport, entered his guilty plea in front of District Judge Ramona Emanuel, during a preliminary hearing.
According to a press release from the Caddo District Attorney’s office, Minniear entered his plea during a hearing “that was to have covered the admissibility of the facts surrounding the abuse of prior victims in the trial against Minniear for his recent abuse of a minor child.”
After entering his guilty plea, Minniear was sentenced to 50 years hard labor without the benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. By contrast, if he had gone to trial and had been found guilty, he faced a sentence of between 25 and 99 years in prison.
The Caddo District Attorney’s Office released the following statement about the case:
The pleading avoids the necessity of testimony from Minniear’s most recent victim, who was 11 to 15 years old during the time span in which the abuses occurred, April 2013 through August 2017. That victim was a patient of Minniear, who at the time was licensed as a counselor. Other alleged abuses of male and female victims the state intended to bring up at trial occurred as far back as 1969.
Besides his 50 year sentence, Minniear must now also register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.