Family of sex assault suspect speaks out
The family of Robert Head maintains his innocence in a child sex assault case, and is skeptical of the claims by his alleged victim.
“It seems like the adults are guilty until proven innocent when a child makes that assertion,” said Head’s mother, Gayla Brown. “It’s really sad that it has come to that.”
Head, 30, is free on bond after his arrest last week. He’s suspected of sex assault on a child by one in a position of trust, a felony punishable by 4 to 16 years in prison.
Head’s family said the alleged victim is his girlfriend’s 14-year-old teen daughter. They said she was a runaway and has falsely accused other men of improper behavior before.
When police became aware of the case two weeks ago, Head’s family said officers found the girl with an 18-year-old man at an apartment complex near the intersection of Chelton Road and Fountain Expressway.
“Her mother was sitting on her, to get her to stay,” said Brown. “That’s when she accused my son.”
The arrest affidavit states that the girl ran away from home to get away from Head. She said he inappropriately touched her while riding in his vehicle during a trip to a grocery store.
In the document, Head said the touching was accidental and happened while he was shifting gears. He also confessed to similarly touching the girl on several occasions, including when they would play “slug bug.”
However, in the same document, Head denied some of the touching accusations and said he got no sexual thrill from any of the touching, rating it a 1 on a scale of 1 to 10.
Brown said Head has dyslexia, a reading disorder, and may not have accurately explained what happened to police. She said she and his family will continue trying to clear his name.
“I’m guessing this happens to a lot of men,” said Brown. “I’m hoping that sooner or later, children will stop making false accusations. If they’re innocent, I’m all for the children. But if they’re making false accusations to get even with their parents, they need to stop.”
Head declined to comment and stood silently with his family during an interview Friday. His next scheduled court date is August 8.
