A state appeals court on Friday upheld the 200-year sentence of a Terra Linda man convicted of molesting four girls at his home.
Robert Alan Girard was convicted of four counts of molestation during a trial in 2007. He was 64 when convicted.
Girard, a registered sex offender, molested the girls from 2003 to 2006 when they visited his home for sleepovers with his daughter. The girls were 6 to 8 years old.
Judge Kelly Simmons sentenced Girard to the maximum four consecutive 50-year terms because of the crimes and his prior record. Girard was convicted in 1980 of performing a lewd act on a 9-year-old child, unlawful sexual intercourse and drug possession.
Girard appealed Simmons' sentence, claiming cruel and unusual punishment, flaws in the trial and prosecutorial misconduct.
On Friday, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal in San Francisco upheld Simmons' sentence.
"A lengthy sentence that will ensure (Girard) is barred from the community for the rest of his life and that will protect that community from future predatory conduct is fully justified," wrote Justice Barbara Jones. "The 200-year sentence imposed does not shock the conscience or offend fundamental notions of human dignity."
Civil lawsuits stemming from the Girard case are still pending in Marin Superior Court. In addition to seeking damages from Girard, the litigation claims Dixie School District officials and former San Rafael police Chief John Rohrbacher failed to notify parents that Girard
"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte
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