A Shreveport man facing close to a century behind bars if he had been convicted as charged by a jury of his peers, pleaded guilty in Caddo District Court to molestation charges Tuesday, February 20, 2018.
Robert Lee Minniear, 84, entered his plea before District Judge Ramona Emanuel at 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.
Instead, Minniear pleaded guilty to molestation of a juvenile under the age of 13, receiving 50 years hard labor without the benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. At trial, he faced at least 25 years and up to 99 years in prison.
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.
In addition to his 50-year sentence, Minniear must register for the rest of his life as a sex offender.
Minniear was defended by Marty Stroud. The prosecutor was Assistant District Attorney Ed Blewer.