CA- State appeals court upholds 200-year sentence

1-31-2009 California:

A state court of appeal has upheld the 200-year sentence given to a Marin County man convicted of molesting four girls.

Robert Alan Girard appealed the sentence handed down after his 2007 conviction claiming it was cruel and unusual punishment. He was 64 at the time.

A registered sex offender, Girard was sentenced to four consecutive 50-year terms for molesting girls from 2003 to 2006. The girls, whose ages ranged from 6 to 8, were molested at his house while sleeping over with his daughter.

The judge cited Girard's previous record during the sentencing. Girard was convicted in 1980 of performing a lewd act on a child, among other charges.

A three-judge panel at the Court of Appeal upheld the sentence, saying it was fully justified and will protect the community from future predatory conduct.
..News Source.. by SFGate.com