Madison man sentenced on sexual contact charge

A Madison man has been sentenced to serve time in the state penitentiary on a felony sexual contact charge.  31-year-old Robert Lathrop of Madison was sentenced this week in Lake County Circuit Court on a felony count of sexual contact with a child under sixteen.  Lathrop earlier pleaded guilty to the charge for an incident that occurred in July of 2019 as part of a plea agreement with the state.  

Circuit Judge Pat Pardy sentenced Lathrop to serve fifteen years in the state penitentiary. The judge suspended one year of the sentence based on several conditions.  Some of the conditions include that Lathrop pay a fine and court costs of more than six-hundred dollars, reimburse Lake County for the cost of his court-appointed attorney’s fees, and pay restitution of close to 36-hundred dollars.  Lathrop also must reimburse the Crime Victim’s Compensation Fund for any amounts paid out. Judge Pardy also ordered that Lathrop not have any contact with the victim or the victim’s family, and not have any contact with any non-biological child under the age of 16 unless approved by the state Department of Corrections. Lathrop also must register as a sex offender and complete sex offender treatment.

Judge Pardy gave Lathrop credit for 258 days that he had already served in connection with the charge.Â