FARMINGTON — A Franklin County justice Friday sentenced a Freeman Township man to three years in jail,with all but nine months suspended, accused of sexually abusing a girl under age 16.

Justin M. Robinson, 22, will serve his sentence at Franklin County Detention Center. The sentence starts Jan. 5, Justice William Stokes said.

The sentence also includes three years probation and conditions, including sex offender treatment, no contact with the victim and family or children under 16 years of age and sex offender registration for 25 years.

A misdemeanor of unlawful sexual touching was dismissed in a plea agreement heard Nov. 14.

Trusted by the child’s parents, Robinson was permitted to give the child a ride home from an Easter sunrise service. Claiming he needed to check on his grandparent, he took the child to his grandparents, Assistant District Attorney Claire Andrews said.

She fell asleep but awoke to Robinson’s sexual abuse, she said.

The girl’s mother said her normally happy-go-lucky child has nightmares. She also said her daughter has a hard time trusting people and cannot understand why it happened, but forgives Robinson.

Robinson’s attorney, George Hess, said the plea agreement spared the girl from a public trial. He spoke of the difficulties of Robinson’s childhood and lack of  jobs and skills as an adult. 

Robinson is also subject to the stigma of publicly registering as a sex offender, likely causing more isolation, Hess said, and the vulnerability Robinson faces as a sex offender in any jail system.

Despite Robinson’s difficult life, violation of a person’s body is taken seriously, Stokes said as he upheld the state’s request for sentencing.

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