Rochester man sentenced to 12 years in prison for child sex abuse – Post Bulletin

ROCHESTER – A Rochester man was sentenced to prison Tuesday for sexually abusing a child in 2022.

Robert Charles Baker, 74, was charged with first-degree sexual abuse. Olmsted County District Judge Joseph Chase sentenced Baker to 12 years in prison.

“I’m living on borrowed time,” Baker said before the verdict was announced.

According to the criminal complaint, Baker was accused of raping and sexually abusing a child. The complaint does not say how often the incidents occurred.

Rochester Police were first notified of the sexual abuse by a Mayo Clinic doctor in August 2022. The child described multiple instances of sexual abuse to both medical personnel and law enforcement.

Security camera footage from Baker’s home, which police secured under a warrant, shows several sexually explicit comments Baker made to the child. The RPD also retained a sex offender kit from the child’s medical exam.

During the sentencing, the child’s mother read her victim impact statement to the court.

Since she learned what had happened to her child on her sixth birthday, the mother and father have had to fight for their jobs and have moved twice. The child cannot sleep because she still does not feel safe, she said.

“She will carry this trauma with her forever,” said the mother.

Kurt Knuesel, Baker’s lawyer, said Baker was an “exemplary person” who served for years in the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army and had no criminal record.

He asked the court to take into account his age and recent tests that show Baker appears to have lung cancer.

“The expected sentence of 144 months would be a life sentence for Mr. Baker,” Knuesel said.

According to Knuesel, Baker’s psychosexual assessment was “strikingly different” than in other cases because of Baker’s honesty.

“Mr. Baker undoubtedly has a problem. There is no getting around it,” Knuesel said, noting that Baker is likely a victim of sexual abuse.

Olmsted County District Attorney Michael Walters argued that it would be unfair to give Baker a lesser sentence.

Walters said the child, now eight years old, still does not understand what happened to him.

“She suddenly realizes how terrible the situation was,” Walters said, “and I don’t know what’s going to happen to the poor child.”

After a twenty-minute recess, Judge Chase denied a downgrade and sentenced Baker to eight years in prison and four years probation.

“It’s true, he took some responsibility – woefully late and after calling the child a liar,” Chase said.

Baker changed his original plea and pleaded guilty on May 5.

Anyone experiencing sexual exploitation can call a 24-hour crisis hotline at 507-289-0636 to speak to someone who can help.