TOWANDA (PA)
The Daily Review [Bradford County, PA]
January 16, 2025
By Philip O’Dell, Senior Staff Writer
A former Bradford County youth pastor took a plea deal Thursday afternoon for sexual abuse offenses that occurred around 27 years ago.
Robert David Fenton pleaded guilty to aggravated indecent assault of a person less than 16 years old and statutory sexual assault, both second-degree felonies, during a plea hearing inside the Bradford County Courthouse.
Fenton and his defense attorney attended via video conference. He is currently remanded at the Bradford County Correctional Facility.
A plea agreement was reached between prosecutors from the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office and Fenton’s defense whereby he will serve three to six years incarceration for each charge followed by eight years of probation. Charges dropped against Fenton as part of the plea deal included involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, corruption of minors and indecent assault.
The two charges he pled guilty to typically carry a maximum sentence of 10 years each with a fine of $25,000 each, according to President Judge Maureen Beirne.
He will undergo an evaluation from the commonwealth’s Sexual Offenders Assessment Board (SOAB) that comes with a lifetime sexual offender registration.
Fenton pleaded guilty to sexual abuse offenses that occurred between March 1996 to September 1998 when he was 26 to 27 years old and the victim was 14 to 15 years old, according to Beirne.
Investigators previously stated Fenton declared that God wanted the victim to be his spouse. The victim came forward after she left the unidentified religious community and sought help to recover from the abuse. The victim’s statements were corroborated by former church officials and those who were associated with both Fenton and the victim.
The Attorney General’s Office started its investigation in July 2021 after the Bradford County District Attorney’s Office made a referral. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania filed charges against Fenton in April 2022 and called for his extradition since he was overseas at the time.
Fenton was detained as he tried to enter the Philippines from Brisbane, Australia, on April 24, 2024. He was believed to be working in a church in Queensland, Australia at the time. He was barred from entering the Philippines by the country’s Bureau of Immigration due to a positive hit in the International Criminal Police Organization’s (Interpol) derogatory system. He was placed on a flight from the Philippines to Los Angeles the next day.
There was no bail when charges were filed on May 18, 2024. Beirne denied supervised bail to Fenton during his bail modification hearing on Aug. 13 of that year citing authorities went to great lengths to extradite him. She added that it would not be in the public’s best interest for him to be released on any bail.
Following the guilty plea on Thursday, state officials have within 90 days to perform a SOAB evaluation and a sentencing date will be determined afterwards, Beirne said. The court will need to perform a pre-sentence evaluation as well.