Filmed sexual abuse of girl gets Elgin man 60 years

Calling an Elgin man's filmed sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl an "abomination" and "pure horror," a prosecutor lobbied a federal judge Friday to give out the maximum sentence.

U.S. District Court Judge Blanche Manning agreed, and with her voice wavering, she sentenced Robert M. Skinner, 41, to 60 years in prison.

Authorities arrested Skinner after he was fired from his Chicago job in 2006 as a computer technician because he accessed a pornographic Web site at work. His bosses notified police after searching his work laptop and discovering what appeared to be child pornography.

Police subsequently found a video Skinner had made of a 12-year-old girl he induced to commit sexual acts.

Skinner pleaded guilty June 26.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Donovan apologized to the court for the graphic nature of his argument but said it was necessary to impart the full gravity of the crime. He said "perhaps the most horrifying … moment" involved the girl speaking about such unrelated things as fruit juice and other child-like interests as the video was filmed, in an attempt to "disassociate" herself from what was going on.

"The destruction and wreckage of this child's life cannot be understated," Donovan said.

The victim, said Donovan, now has trouble in school and is often truant. Her mother says she is worried the girl is falling in with the wrong crowd, he said.

"The victim will serve a life sentence," said Donovan.

Additionally, Donovan said, "the defendant tried to groom another child with a particularly perverse statement … 'Would you like me to show you what adults do?' and, of course, children want to be adults."

Skinner apologized for his conduct, and his father testified that the behavior was a complete aberration for a son who never gave him any trouble growing up.

"It's hard to understand how he got off track," said Skinner's father, Robert Skinner Sr. "He committed a horrible crime, but he's not a horrible man."

"With all due respect to your father … I think this is one time the (federal sentencing) guideline has got it right," Manning told the defendant before sentencing him to the maximum.

He received 30 years for one count of sexual exploitation of a child relating to the video and 30 years for a second count of sexual exploitation of a child relating to a still photograph. The sentences are to run consecutively.