After listening to descriptions of the years of pain he inflicted on his victims, Robert J. Robel stood to face the judge who would send him to prison for what could be the rest of his life.

The former security supervisor for The Spokesman-Review, convicted of raping two girls for most of their childhoods, choked back a sob.

“I’ll carry this pain with me for the rest of my life for what I’ve done,” Robel, 61, said through tears. “…I apologize for the hurt and pain I caused my victims.”

Robel was sentenced to at least 18 years in prison in a plea deal approved today by Spokane County Superior Court Judge Maryann Moreno.

Read the rest of my story here.

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