Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Robert V. Pentland III - Repeat Sex Offender - Once Sued to be released from Registration


A registered sex offender was arrested Tuesday after police said he sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl in his care.
Robert V. Pentland III, 38, of Princess Drive, was charged with fourth-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor.

Pentland surrendered to police after an arrest warrant was issued following an investigation conducted by the Criminal Investigation Division.

The investigation stemmed from an anonymous report to the state Department of Children and Families concerning inappropriate sexual contact involving a girl, 11.

According to the arrest warrant, around Halloween 2008, the girl’s foster mother would leave the girl in Pentland’s care when she and her husband “went away on business.” In April, the girl told her foster mother that she had been “given away” to “Uncle Rob” and that he molested her, according to the affidavit.

Police said the foster mother told investigators that the girl made three disclosures about alleged sexual abuse by Pentland.

Pentland did not post the $300,000 bail and was arraigned at Superior Court in New Haven, where he did not enter a plea.

Pentland was initially not required to register as a sex offender after he was arrested in 2005. According to the state sex offender registry, the charges included unlawful restraint in the second degree and reckless endangerment, of which he was found guilty under the Alford doctrine. The doctrine allows the defendant to not admit guilt, but agree that the state has enough evidence against him or her to result in a conviction.

The charges were based on Pentland’s inappropriate sexual contact with a 10-year-old girl in 2003, according to the case records on the Judicial Branch’s website.

After a violation of his probation in 2006, the court required that Pentland register as a sex offender after mistakenly saying he didn’t have to.

Directly after Pentland admitted to violating the terms of his probation in September 2006, he asked to be relieved of the requirement that he stay registered as a sex offender and his request was denied. He asked again during a January 2007 hearing, to no avail.
Pentland has three pending criminal cases in the state. These include threatening and reckless endangerment, of which he was convicted in March, as well as three counts of failure to verify the address of a registered sex offender. The final pending case includes charges of sexual assault in the third degree, unlawful restraint and risk of injury to a minor or impairing the morals of a minor.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte

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