PORT TOWNSEND — A 61-year-old man was convicted of fourth-degree assault following a two-week trial in Jefferson County Superior Court.
Robert Judd was sentenced on Friday to 364 days on electronic home monitoring by Judge Brandon Mack, the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office stated in a news release.
Judd will be allowed to attend work while on electronic home monitoring.
Judd faced two counts of first-degree child molestation during the trial that concluded on Oct. 22, the prosecuting attorney’s office said. After deliberating for more than a day, the jury returned a guilty verdict on the lesser-included offense of fourth-degree assault on the first count, and it was unable to reach a verdict on the second count, resulting in a hung jury.
The conviction stems from repeated sexual abuse that Judd committed against his former stepdaughter over a four-year period when she was between the ages of 7 and 11, the prosecuting attorney’s office said. The abuse ended in about 2018, shortly after Judd and the girl’s mother divorced.
“(Friday’s) sentence holds Mr. Judd accountable for the harm he inflicted on a child who trusted him as a father figure,” deputy prosecuting attorney Holly Graham stated in the news release. “I commend the victim for her courage in coming forward years later and cooperating fully with law enforcement and prosecution.”
The case was originally reported to the state Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) in 2021 because Judd was employed by DCYF at the time, the prosecuting attorney’s office said.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Art Frank conducted the investigation that included a forensic interview of the girl, a court-authorized recorded confrontation call and an in-person interview with Judd, the prosecuting attorney’s office said.
During the recorded phone call, Judd acknowledged numerous boundary violations, admitted the relationship with his stepdaughter “got out of hand,” apologized to the girl and made statements that corroborated her disclosures, the prosecuting attorney’s office said.
Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney James Kennedy praised Graham’s preparation and advocacy.
“This result sends a clear message that our office will pursue accountability whenever the law allows,” Kennedy stated in the news release.
He also thanked Frank and Detective Brian Anderson for their work on the case.
“Without the work of these detectives, the victim would not have gotten her day in court,” Kennedy said. “My office needs detectives like these to work these cases so we can protect the community.”
