An 83-year-old man will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars after being convicted by a Santa Barbara jury this week of nine counts of child molestation and sexual assault.
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office says Robert Charles Hawley committed the crimes on three family members.
“The successful prosecution of this serial pedophile was the result of the actions of a Good Samaritan calling 911 when she observed the defendant engaging in inappropriate touching of a young girl in a local supermarket,” the DA’s Office said in a press release. “The 911 caller saw something odd and decided she should say something, and in so doing provided the authorities with a description of the subjects as well as a license plate of an associated vehicle.”
Hawley is expected to be sentenced to 138 years behind bars when he is sentenced May 29.
Santa Barbara County Jail logs show he has been in custody since last May.
