Former Texarkana youth baseball coach pleads guilty to sex crime

Conner Eldridge, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Walter Richard Roberts, age 62, of Texarkana, Arkansas, pled guilty today to a one-count indictment for transporting a minor in interstate commerce with the intent to engage in a sexual activity. From 1986 to 1994, Roberts was a youth-baseball coach in Texarkana. United States District Judge Susan O. Hickey accepted the guilty plea in U.S. District Court in Texarkana, Arkansas.

 United States Attorney Eldridge commented, "There are no cases more important than those in which children are victims.  The pattern of sexual abuse that this defendant committed is reprehensible.  His conviction today is another step towards holding him accountable.  We will continue to aggressively prosecute those who victimize children in our communities."   

According to documents filed in court, Roberts engaged in an extensive pattern of sexual assault that spanned several years. In 1986, Roberts transported two boys, ages 9 and 10, from Texarkana, Arkansas to a supply store on the Texas side of Texarkana.

There, Roberts parked the van he was driving at the store, had both boys move to the back of the van, and proceeded to sexually assault them. 

The 10-year-old victim involved in the 1986 incident had also been assaulted by Roberts when he was nine during a trip to Wright Patman Lake in Texas. Again, the assault took place in the back of Roberts van. Additionally, Roberts admitted to sexually assaulting a third boy, who was nine or ten years old at the time, during a fishing trip to Beard's Lake in Arkansas in 1988 or 1989. The assault took place while the two traveled on Highway 71.

Roberts was originally indicted on August 22, 2012. He faces a maximum of 10 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000.

 The case was investigated by the Texarkana, Arkansas Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Kyra Jenner is prosecuting the case for the United States.