Criminal
Jun. 19, 2002
Jurist Orders Psychological Tests for Molester
VENTURA - State corrections officials may hold the key to the fate of a Ventura attorney convicted of molesting a girl three decades ago in his law office and home.
Robert D. Silver, 67, appeared for sentencing last week after pleading guilty to five counts of lewd acts with a child. Prosecutors were seeking the maximum sentence of eight years in prison.
But Ventura Superior Court Judge Bruce A. Clark deferred a ruling and sent Silver to the Department of Corrections for a 90-day psychological evaluation. Silver's attorney urged Clark to release him on probation.
"He is a broken man," Deputy Public Defender Todd W. Howeth said in court.
The victim, now 41, alleged that Silver repeatedly fondled and sexually assaulted her starting when she was 5. She contacted Ventura police after hearing about a new law that allows sex crimes to be revived under certain circumstances after the statute of limitations has expired.
A civil complaint filed by the victim in 1991 took nine years to litigate, ending with an award against Silver of $450,000 in damages that later was reduced to $200,000.
"Be aware, some of us will gain our strength and identity back," the victim said in a statement last week. "And then we will hunt you like we were hunted."
Silver, who graduated from UCLA School of Law and was admitted to the State Bar in 1966, is due back in court Sept. 20. People v. Silver, CR48624 (Ventura Super. Ct., filed April 19, 2000). Felony convictions usually result in disbarment.
Matthew Heller
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