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Sex abuse case involving child reset for November

Times-Tribune - 8/28/2019

Aug. 28--LAUREL COUNTY -- A November court date was set for a Laurel man accused of sexually abusing a 4-year-old child last year.

Robert Jon Roark, 42, of Hazel Patch Road in London, is charged with first-degree rape, first-degree sexual abuse and first-degree sodomy of the child between August and December 2018. His next court date will be at 9 a.m.Nov. 4.

The indictment charges Roark with having sexual intercourse and sexual contact with the child during that five-month period last year. The rape charge states that Roark used "forcible compulsion" to perform the sex acts with the child.

Roark was arrested on June 23, two days after the indictment was returned by a Laurel grand jury. He remains held in the Laurel County Correctional Center under $100,000 cash bond.

Under Kentucky laws, first-degree sexual abuse is a Class D felony with a penalty of one to five years, unless the victim is under age 12. In that situation, the offense is enhanced to a Class C felony, which carries a minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 10 years.

First-degree rape is a Class B felony with a penalty of 10 to 20 years. However, when the victim is under age 12, the penalty is advanced to a higher level of Class A felony, which carries to possible prison sentence of 20 years or more.

First-degree sodomy of a child under age 12 is a Class A felony that carries a penalty of 20 to 50 years, or a life sentence. A life sentence requires that a person found guilty will have to serve a minimum of 20 years in prison.

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