Child molester dies in prison Child molester dies in prison (February 18, 2004)

By David Boyce

Almanac Staff Writer

As expected by the judge who sentenced him, former Menlo Park resident, attorney and convicted child molester Robert Hunter Wilson died in prison.

Mr. Wilson, 55, died from complications related to diabetes on Sunday, February 1, at the Department of Corrections medical facility in Vacaville, said San Mateo County Deputy District Attorney Peter Lynch.

Mr. Lynch was the prosecutor in 1999 when Mr. Wilson pled guilty to three counts of child molestation and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

At the time of his sentencing, Mr. Wilson had end-stage renal failure due to diabetes and needed full-time dialysis, but as a convicted felon, he was not eligible for a kidney transplant. The judge chose an 11-year sentence based on Mr. Wilson's life expectancy to ensure that he would die in prison, Mr. Lynch said.

"There is a measure of relief in his death," Mr. Lynch told the Almanac. Among the victims and their families, "there was still the nagging worry in their minds that somehow Mr. Wilson would get out and they would see him around in the community and they didn't want to have to deal with that."

Before his 1999 conviction, Mr. Wilson had been a registered sex offender who had twice faced molestation charges and had been barred from practicing law at least once, Mr. Lynch said.

Asked if Mr. Wilson had been repentant, Mr. Lynch said he had not spoken with him since his sentencing and had not heard of him sending a message of apology to victims' families. "It seemed pretty clear that his life revolved around finding victims and exploiting them and it didn't seem like it was going to change," he said.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.