April 01, 2005

Back to the Table of Contents Page

Back to the Weekly Home Page

Classifieds

Publication Date: Friday, April 01, 2005

Gym owner gets three years in prison for molesting girls

About 60 people - girls, mothers and fathers - filled the courtroom at Superior Court in Hayward last Friday to lend support to those who stepped forward to tell about being molested by their gym coach.

After more than an hour of emotional testimony, Judge Robert K. Kurtz sentenced Robert Shawler, 40, a Pleasanton resident and former owner of Cal West Gymnastics in Fremont, to three years in state prison.

The molestation charges involved seven girls from Fremont and Pleasanton who began to come forward in January 2004 to tell about incidents taking place between June 2000 and November 2003. Shawler pleaded no contest in September to two counts of child molestation and the maximum sentence he faced was six years in state prison.

The first victim to speak out, Courtney, 15, stood with her father and mother. The three also addressed Shawler, who sat, head down, next to his attorney.

"A child only gets to be a child once," her father said. "Everyone who deals with children has an obligation." He went on to say that Shawler had been a trusted friend, and he had attended Shawler's wedding and helped his family move.

He asked that Shawler receive the maximum sentence, telling the judge, "If you chose to reduce the sentence it will support that nothing really happened. It's not about rehabilitation. It's about justice."

Courtney was sobbing as she began to speak. "I was the first girl to come forward," she said. "I was just 12 when Robert first touched me. From that day on, my life changed. I didn't know what to do. I spent so many nights crying." She dropped out of gymnastics, although she had been an Elite Gymnast, and said she felt guilt that she did not tell her parents sooner.

"How would you feel if someone did to your baby what you did to us?" she asked Shawler, choking back her tears. "There is only one person to blame for all this - it's you."

"I trusted you with my most precious possession, my child," said another parent. "He fooled me into thinking he would take care of her. It's not like a broken leg that will heal. As a parent, it's the worst feeling in the world. Unless you've had a child molested, you'll never understand the pain."

"I'll never forget what you did," said Alexa, 11. "I'll never forgive you."

Another victim, accompanied only by her mother, told of her difficulty making friends after she lost her friends at the gym. "My father won't talk about it, and he treats me differently now," she said.

"I charge this is just the tip of the iceberg," said Deputy District Attorney Joni Leventis, who was prosecuting the case. "We knew these girls could get up and talk." She said there were about 22-23 victims and the molesting began when they were 9 and 10 years old.

She told Judge Kurtz that she knew he had received many letters testifying to Shawler's good character.

"A child molester picks his victims carefully," Leventis said. "I say for those (supporters), well, good for them." She asked the court to deny probation and sentence Shawler to the full six years.

Shawler's defense attorney, William Gagen, said that no cases are more difficult than this one but he disagreed with Leventis, stating that Shawler has said he is ashamed of what he had done. He said Shawler had been a victim of sexual molestation himself, plus had moved 15 times in 17 years as a young man.

"This doesn't excuse his conduct but it helps the court see why he did what he did," Gagen said. "He's out of gymnastics for life. No way will he be around children."

Leventis also noted the sense of shame felt by the girls when in the beginning, Shawler and his wife accused them of lying.

"One of the purposes of the criminal justice system is to take the emotion out," said Judge Kurtz, noting this had not happened. "One thing that goes without saying is these young women have nothing to be ashamed of." He also urged the victims to receive help before problems develop "down the road."

"We're not here to determine guilt. There is guilt. We have to put it in the context of what we see here everyday," Kurtz said, adding that tragic crimes are committed against children in Alameda County every day that he hears about in court.

He noted that three evaluations had been done of Shawler, with an associate warden recommending state prison; a correctional counselor recommending a suspended prison term; and a psychologist saying there was no clear evidence of pedophilia.

"With this crime I cannot justify probation," Kurtz said. "There was a serious breach of trust here," he said, noting that all parents have to sometimes trust others with their children.

He also stated there were mitigating factors: Shawler had no prior record; he himself had been a victim in his youth; and he acknowledged his guilt at a relatively early stage.

He sentenced him to three years in state prison, with credit for 128 days served and another 19 days for good conduct. Shawler also must register as a sex offender, and provide blood and saliva samples.

After the trial, several parents expressed disappointment with the sentencing, saying Shawler should have received the full six years in prison.
Helping the A.C.H.E.

In an effort to make something positive out of a terrible experience, two of the victims in the Robert Shawler molestation case have started the A.C.H.E. Foundation. A.C.H.E. stands for Abused Children Heard Everywhere and the girls, Courtney, 15, and Alexa 11, having chosen the motto: "Sharing our story to give others strength."

The girls, one from Pleasanton, the other from Fremont, hope that by sharing their stories they can help other children understand how to reach out for help if they have been abused.

"Victims of child molestation suffer not only the physical trauma of the crime, but also the emotional anguish caused by the act itself and the breach of trust by the molester," said Joni Leventis, the Deputy District Attorney who was assigned to prosecute the case. "Ironically, children feel ashamed to come forward, as if they have done something wrong."

She also noted that victims such as Courtney and Alexa will be an amazing resource to other such children.

Courtney had been a gymnast since she was 3 and was a National Elite Gymnast when the incidents began. In January 2004 she came forward and told her parents that her gym coach had been molesting her for two years. "I don't want other children to live with the A.C.H.E. that I felt for the two years before I told."

Alexa was a gymnast for eight years and a National TOPS Gymnast for three years, winning state championships in beam, bars and floor events in 2003. Her dreams were shattered in March 2004 when she told her mother the coach had been molesting her. "I feel 'stronger now' after telling what was happening," she said. "I want to tell my story so other molested children will have the strength to tell theirs."

The foundation is selling "Stronger Now" bracelets for $2 each to wear in support of abused children who speak out. Part of the contributions goes to a partnering child abuse organization. For more information visit www.strongernow.com or send a check to the A.C.H.E. Foundation, P.O. Box 3039, Fremont 94539. For more information, contact info@strongernow.com. -Dolores Fox Ciardelli

E-mail a friend a link to this story.