Former Loveland Church Volunteer Gets Jail for "Grooming," Sexually Assaulting Girl
Coloradoan
Robert Ernest Kirchhoff Written by Robert Allen Filed Under Updates Update News A former Loveland church volunteer and toy store owner promised an iPad upgrade, and trips to Disneyland and Elitch Gardens before sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl, the victim said in court. “You are the most disgusting person I ever met in my life,” she said while standing at the lectern, sobbing softly. “You are really screwed up, and someone had to stop you.” Robert Ernest Kirchhoff, 54, of Loveland was sentenced to two years in jail and 10 years to life of in-tensive sex-offender probation for grabbing the girl by the wrist and sexually assaulting her for 20 minutes in late January. He had been babysitting the girl as she was at his home to visit his 12-year-old daughter the night of Jan. 27. 8th Judicial District Judge Julie Field gave him the maximum sentence under a plea agreement that the victim’s family said they supported. She said Kirchhoff’s “profound grooming behavior” and posses-sion of child pornography, along with his history of domestic violence, were taken into account. Kirchoff volunteered with preteens at Resurrection Fellowship Church until the charges surfaced, and he met the victim’s family through the church. Deputy District Attorney Daniel McDonald said that by using his daughter to entice another child to come to his house, gaining the victim’s and her parents’ trust, and then exerting control over the victim, Kirchhoff stands out as a “classic textbook” sex offender. “This is incredibly concerning grooming behavior,” he said, adding that the case was “screaming for a punitive sentence.” McDonald also said that in three years of prosecuting sex offenders, he’s never seen such behavior, which also included sleeping naked with his daughter. The victim told the court that Kirchhoff had asked if she had lost her virginity yet, because he was that age when he lost his. The victim’s father said he met Kirchhoff at a birthday party, and the girls were good friends. “We accepted Bob as a friend right away,” he said, adding that his wife had to persuade him against confronting Kirchhoff immediately after hearing the news from his daughter. Kirchhoff apologized to the victim before he was sentenced. He said he takes responsibility, it was not her fault. “I made a bad decision that night, and it should have never happened,” he said, adding that he will change. “I’m deeply sorry.” Kirchhoff previously pleaded guilty in the case to felony sexual assault on a child and misdemeanor unlawful sexual contact. Field said in handing down the sentence that she observed Kirchhoff’s willingness to change. “But there’s a brave little girl out there who’s basically got a life sentence based upon what you did to her for 20 minutes, and she has to face that consequence as well,” she said. Kirchhoff formerly ran Duncebusters Play and Learn, an educational children's toy store at the Promenade Shops at Centerra. The city of Loveland seized the business in January 2011 after it failed to pay sales taxes. In a case from Jefferson County, Kirchhoff previously pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic vio-lence and child abuse, negligently causing bodily injury. That offense occurred in December 2006. He was given a deferred sentence the following year. No sexual incidents involving Kirchhoff are believed to have occurred at the Loveland church, and police with Loveland Police Department previously said they aren't aware of additional alleged sexual assault victims. The Coloradoan does not usually identify the victims of sex crimes.
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