Posted on 08/27/2002 9:52:30 AM PDT by GailA
Robert Charles Druckemiller
Convicted child abuser gets 9-month jail sentence Rapist's probation revoked
By Randy Kenner, News-Sentinel staff writer August 27, 2002
A convicted child rapist who received probation last week for stalking an 11-year-old Halls boy came to Knox County Juvenile Court on Monday expecting to get another term on probation.
Instead, Robert Charles Druckemiller was sentenced to serve about nine months in jail in addition to facing possibly years in prison after being charged with the aggravated sexual battery of another young boy.
Druckemiller - who served 12 years for child rape in Pennsylvania before he moved to Knoxville two years ago - was supposed to submit to a revocation of his pretrial diversion earlier this year for contributing to the delinquency of a minor by giving beer to a 12-year-old boy.
At the time the 36-year-old Druckemiller, who has told sheriff's deputies he can't control his urges to prey on children, was driving the boy around in his car.
As part of a plea agreement on Monday, Druckemiller would get a year on supervised probation to run at the same time as the supervised probation in the stalking case.
Monday's deal collapsed, however, when the boy involved in the beer incident apparently told authorities that other things had also occurred.
"Something has changed," Steve Sword, an assistant district attorney general said Monday. "The young fellow has come forward with some new information that has caused us to rescind our offer."
Sword declined to reveal what the 12-year-old boy said, but it provided the basis to charge Druckemiller with aggravated sexual battery of the child.
After Sword withdrew the offer, Juvenile Judge Carey E. Garrett revoked Drunkemiller's probation and ordered him to serve 75 percent of his 11 months and 29 day sentence in jail.
"It's the maximum we could have gotten on a misdemeanor," Sword said.
Druckemiller also faces a potential sentence of eight to 12 years in prison if he is convicted of the aggravated sexual battery of the boy.
Monday's hearing was the latest in a series of charges and hearings involving Druckemiller since his situation came to light last week.
According to court records and the Knox County Sheriff's Office, which investigated the case, Druckemiller was arrested in Pennsylvania in 1987 on 242 counts of child rape. It's not clear whether the charges involve a single child or numerous children.
But he only pled guilty to one count as part of an agreement that called for a 12-year prison sentence. After completing the sentence, Druckemiller moved to Knox County. He was living in Halls and working at a fast food restaurant when the alleged offenses occurred.
In January the mother of the 12-year-old boy swore out a juvenile court warrant accusing Druckemiller of providing the boy "with alcohol while driving him around in his car. The child was intoxicated to the point of passing out."
Druckemiller was served with the warrant, but a subsequent record check failed to turn up his prior record for child rape, Sword said.
No one seemed able on Monday to explain exactly how that occurred. Sword said there is an administrative assistant who runs background checks on defendants.
But the problem occurred, at least in part, because Druckemiller's name was initially misspelled in juvenile court records.
"We weren't even close," Sword said.
It may also have occurred because a defendant's social security number apparently isn't listed on juvenile court warrants.
The juvenile court uses a different computer system, because of the confidential nature of its proceedings, than Knox County Criminal Court.
"The (juvenile) system is not as well-equipped to deal with adults," Sword said.
The error concerning Druckemiller's record resulted in Sword taking the matter to court with no idea Druckemiller was a convicted sex offender.
"We go into open court and I tell the judge he has no criminal record," Sword recalled.
Sword offered Druckemiller pretrial diversion, a form of probation in which a person's record will be expunged if they stay out of trouble for a certain period of time.
But Druckemiller couldn't stay out of trouble.
According to Sheriff Tim Hutchison, Druckemiller subsequently befriended an 11-year-old boy and the child's mother who was unaware of Druckemiller's record.
Sheriff's deputies responding to complaints about Druckemiller hanging out near Halls Elementary School and North Knox County ball fields learned of his background and told the mother.
She ordered Druckemiller to stay away from her son, but he began driving past the child's home leading to the stalking charge.
Druckemiller was also charged last week with violating the state's Sex Offender Registry Act for failing to notify the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation that he had moved.
Druckemiller is listed on the registry, but because his conviction was prior to 1997, he is not included on the portion of the list available to the public.
Randy Kenner may be reached at 865-342-6305 or kenner@knews.com
A bullet between the eyes will stop the urge........
Strap him down, insert electrodes to the right (ahem)areas. I believe that there is a device that check pupil dialation. WE need one of those.
He should be seated at a table with a dispenser for sweets. There should be a slide projector.
Teh slides should be composed of adult women and young boys. Each time a woman pops up, he gets a sweet. Each time he sees a picture of a young child and his eyes dialate from arousal, he gets a schock.
The session ends when the patient can sucessfully see five images of scantily clas boys without arousal or cringes at each one.
I'm sure that the ALCU will scream bloddy murder, but he will be treated or suffer permanent nerve damage trying.
This sick Ba$$-Turd would probably enjoy it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.