EDINBURG (TX)
The Monitor
March 16,2005
Brittney Booth
The Monitor
EDINBURG — Former Trinity Worship Center music minister Robert Dale Franklin pleaded guilty Tuesday to two felony counts that he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old church member.
Franklin, 38, entered his guilty plea before noon, halting the jury selection and trial set to begin in Judge Mario Ramirez’s 332nd state District Court.
By pleading guilty to the two second-degree felonies, Franklin avoided 10 additional felony charges that a grand jury indicted him of last year that included delivery of a controlled substance to a minor, indecency with a child and of delivery of marijuana to a minor.
Each count carries a maximum of 20 years in jail. Prosecutors filed a motion last week requesting that if the jury found Franklin guilty, he would serve the sentences back to back, instead of at the same time.