State Courts

Wichita girl says relative raped, abused her for four years as mother did nothing

By Ron Sylvester

Warning: Contains graphic content.

A 36-year-old Wichita man is scheduled to go to trial later this month charged with repeated sex acts against a young relative over four years.

Robin Adams is charged with raping, fondling and abusing the girl from the time she was 7 until she was 11. The girl has told authorities that Adams held a gun to the girl’s head, a knife to her neck, burned her with cigarettes and threatened to drown her in the bathtub to keep her from telling.

The girls’ mother has been convicted of aggravated child endangerment for knowing about the abuse but not reporting it to authorities. She is currently on probation.

Details of the case were revealed in a motion filed last week by prosecutor Christine Ladner, asking a judge to consolidate three cases against Adams for a trial set to begin Jan. 26. The motion is set to be heard on Friday. Although Ladner left the Sedgwick County district attorney’s office at the beginning of the year to take a similar job in Shawnee County, she has received special permission to return to Wichita and prosecute Adams.

Adams has said through his lawyer, Alice Osburn, that the girl is mentally ill and fabricating the case. Ladner said the girl suffers serious anxiety, depression and other serious psychological problems as a result of the abuse.

On one occasion, the girl said, Adams put a gun to her head and told her “say bye to your mommy.” The girl also said he locked her in the dark bathroom for hours after she tried to call for help and made her drink urine.

Last year, Ladner made a rare request for the child to be allowed to testify via closed circuit TV. While allowed by law, it’s only been granted once in Sedgwick County during the past 10 years. But the law allows such testimony only in instances where the witness is under age 13. The case was originally charged in April 2007, but by the time it comes to trial in two weeks, she will have turned 13, forcing Ladner to withdraw her motion.

Adams is HIV-positive, according to court records, and had tested positive in the time period the girl claims he was having sex with her.

Full post as published by What the Judge Ate for Breakfast on January 13, 2009 (boomark / email).