The State - News from Dec. 1, 1988

An Episcopal priest was sentenced to six years in state prison for molesting a 7-year-old boy in his Ventura church office in 1985. Robert Henry, 59, was rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Ventura and dean of St. Paul’s Episcopal Day School from 1969 to 1987. He stepped down and moved to San Luis Obispo in May, 1987, after the Ventura County district attorney’s office began an investigation. In pronouncing sentence, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Kenneth R. Yegan said Henry posed a danger because he could not control his sexual urges toward children. The judge said Henry took advantage of the trust parents and the church had placed in him. Yegan, who could have sentenced Henry to a maximum of eight years, also cited the strong community support for the priest.