http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1997-04-05/news/9704040435_1_futch-karate-victim
Ex-karate Center Owner Gets 8 Years In Attack
April 5, 1997|By HENRY FITZGERALD JR. Staff Writer
Robert Earle Keith smiled and gave a thumbs-up signal to his family and friends on Friday, but his upbeat mood was seemingly out of place under the circumstances: Broward Circuit Judge Daniel Futch Jr. had just sentenced him to eight years in prison.
Keith, 45, former owner the Bob Keith Karate Center, 2717 N. Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors, was convicted on March 13 on one count of false imprisonment and two counts of sexual battery for an attack on a former student and instructor at the school.
Keith faced between eight and 15 years in prison, but his attorney, Norliza Batts, successfully lobbied Futch for the least amount of prison time.
"I'm asking you to balance his past accomplishments with the verdict and sentence my client to the bottom of the guidelines," Batts said.
Keith was charged in 1995 when the victim, now 26, accused Keith of sexual assault.
According to trial testimony, on Feb. 6, 1995, after an evening of drinking beer with Keith, the victim said he was too drunk to drive home. Keith offered to let him sleep at the karate school, a few doors away from the bar, the victim said. The victim testified that when he woke in the middle of the night, he was handcuffed and Keith was performing oral sex on him.
The victim went on to say Keith told him he was his "mortal master" and threatened "If you don't calm down I'm going to knock you out."
Prosecutor Brad Weissman asked Futch to sentence Keith to 15 years because Keith attacked the student while he was drunk and asleep.
"This young man was extremely intoxicated and he was in a very vulnerable position," Weissman told Futch. "He was Keith's student. He took advantage of that relationship."
Keith also is facing a second trial on June 9 in which a former student, now 17, made similar allegations.
Ex-karate Center Owner Gets 8 Years In Attack
April 5, 1997|By HENRY FITZGERALD JR. Staff Writer
Robert Earle Keith smiled and gave a thumbs-up signal to his family and friends on Friday, but his upbeat mood was seemingly out of place under the circumstances: Broward Circuit Judge Daniel Futch Jr. had just sentenced him to eight years in prison.
Keith, 45, former owner the Bob Keith Karate Center, 2717 N. Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors, was convicted on March 13 on one count of false imprisonment and two counts of sexual battery for an attack on a former student and instructor at the school.
Keith faced between eight and 15 years in prison, but his attorney, Norliza Batts, successfully lobbied Futch for the least amount of prison time.
"I'm asking you to balance his past accomplishments with the verdict and sentence my client to the bottom of the guidelines," Batts said.
Keith was charged in 1995 when the victim, now 26, accused Keith of sexual assault.
According to trial testimony, on Feb. 6, 1995, after an evening of drinking beer with Keith, the victim said he was too drunk to drive home. Keith offered to let him sleep at the karate school, a few doors away from the bar, the victim said. The victim testified that when he woke in the middle of the night, he was handcuffed and Keith was performing oral sex on him.
The victim went on to say Keith told him he was his "mortal master" and threatened "If you don't calm down I'm going to knock you out."
Prosecutor Brad Weissman asked Futch to sentence Keith to 15 years because Keith attacked the student while he was drunk and asleep.
"This young man was extremely intoxicated and he was in a very vulnerable position," Weissman told Futch. "He was Keith's student. He took advantage of that relationship."
Keith also is facing a second trial on June 9 in which a former student, now 17, made similar allegations.
Miami Herald, The : EX-KARATE TEACHER GUILTY IN SEX CASE...
Miami Herald - Mar 14, 1997
Even as the guilty verdict was being read, former karate instructor Robert Earle Keith had a smile on his face. Jurors took just over an hour to find Keith ...
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1. Miami Herald - March 14, 1997 - 1BR Broward News
EX-KARATE TEACHER GUILTY IN SEX CASE WAS ACCUSED BY FORMER STUDENT
Even as the guilty verdict was being read, former karate instructor Robert Earle Keith had a smile on his face. Jurors took just over an hour to find Keith guilty of false imprisonment and sexual battery against David Mulligan, one of Keith's former students and employees. Keith, 44, owned Bob Keith's Karate Center in Wilton Manors. He has been jailed for a year and a half. After the verdict, he beamed at jurors as they were led from the courtroom. He beamed...
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Miami Herald - Mar 14, 1997
Even as the guilty verdict was being read, former karate instructor Robert Earle Keith had a smile on his face. Jurors took just over an hour to find Keith ...
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1. Miami Herald - March 14, 1997 - 1BR Broward News
EX-KARATE TEACHER GUILTY IN SEX CASE WAS ACCUSED BY FORMER STUDENT
Even as the guilty verdict was being read, former karate instructor Robert Earle Keith had a smile on his face. Jurors took just over an hour to find Keith guilty of false imprisonment and sexual battery against David Mulligan, one of Keith's former students and employees. Keith, 44, owned Bob Keith's Karate Center in Wilton Manors. He has been jailed for a year and a half. After the verdict, he beamed at jurors as they were led from the courtroom. He beamed...
>> Purchase complete article, of 478 words
Read more here: http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MH&s_site=miami&p_multi=MH&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB4D73437BBD14B&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM#storylink=cpy
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1997-03-14/news/9703130619_1_karate-school-assault-victim
Instructor Guilty Of Sexual Assault On Karate Student
2nd Pupil Also Accusing Man At Manors School
March 14, 1997 | By NOREEN MARCUS Staff Writer
It took a jury less than two hours on Thursday to find karate instructor Robert Earle Keith guilty of sexually assaulting a student. After the verdict, Keith turned to face his family and friends seated behind him. "It's the beginning, not the end," he told the grim-faced group.
In addition to a maximum sentence of more than 30 years, Keith faces a possible second sexual battery trial in a case filed on behalf of a 17-year-old boy. Keith, 45, was an owner of the Wilton Manors karate school where both of his alleged victims were students.
Outside the courtroom, Keith's supporters, who had sat through the two-day trial, were visibly, and quite vocally, upset. Fighting back tears, his sister Maryann Corts said, "They've convicted an innocent man. ... He cares about people, and that's his biggest mistake."
"I am absolutely shocked that someone's life could be ruined just by the word of one person, without any physical evidence," said Ronald Klein, Keith's brother-in-law.
Keith's attorney, Norliza Batts, said she would appeal. She said the incident described by the victim, who was 24 at the time, "did not happen. It was a physical impossibility."
The victim, who studied and taught at the school, accused Keith, his collaborator on a screenplay, because "he has a vivid imagination," Batts said.
But the jury believed the victim, the state's star witness. He testified that on Feb. 6, 1995, after an evening of drinking beer with Keith, he was too drunk to get home. Keith offered to let him sleep at the karate school, a few doors away from the bar, he said.
He knew the school well, and had even slept there before. The victim studied at the school and, when Keith offered him a job, started teaching there as well.
When he woke in the middle of the night, he testified, he found himself handcuffed and with Keith performing oral sex on top of him.
"He said over and over he was my mortal master," the man said on the stand. "He told me to calm down, `If you don't calm down, I'm going to knock you out.''' Three months later, the victim reported the incident to police.
Batts argued there was no physical evidence - such as semen stains or handcuff abrasions - linking Keith to the alleged crime.
Keith did not testify. "It's his constitutional right," Batts said. Also, she acknowledged, anything Keith said in the case could be used against him in a second trial.
In the second case, Senior Judge M. Daniel Futch Jr. has excluded the 17-year-old boy's statement. He was meditating with Keith when the alleged assault occurred, so the statement was unreliable, the judge ruled on Feb. 14.
Prosecutor Bradley Weissman on Thursday said he was considering either appealing the judge's ruling or dropping the case.
Instructor Guilty Of Sexual Assault On Karate Student
2nd Pupil Also Accusing Man At Manors School
March 14, 1997 | By NOREEN MARCUS Staff Writer
It took a jury less than two hours on Thursday to find karate instructor Robert Earle Keith guilty of sexually assaulting a student. After the verdict, Keith turned to face his family and friends seated behind him. "It's the beginning, not the end," he told the grim-faced group.
In addition to a maximum sentence of more than 30 years, Keith faces a possible second sexual battery trial in a case filed on behalf of a 17-year-old boy. Keith, 45, was an owner of the Wilton Manors karate school where both of his alleged victims were students.
Outside the courtroom, Keith's supporters, who had sat through the two-day trial, were visibly, and quite vocally, upset. Fighting back tears, his sister Maryann Corts said, "They've convicted an innocent man. ... He cares about people, and that's his biggest mistake."
"I am absolutely shocked that someone's life could be ruined just by the word of one person, without any physical evidence," said Ronald Klein, Keith's brother-in-law.
Keith's attorney, Norliza Batts, said she would appeal. She said the incident described by the victim, who was 24 at the time, "did not happen. It was a physical impossibility."
The victim, who studied and taught at the school, accused Keith, his collaborator on a screenplay, because "he has a vivid imagination," Batts said.
But the jury believed the victim, the state's star witness. He testified that on Feb. 6, 1995, after an evening of drinking beer with Keith, he was too drunk to get home. Keith offered to let him sleep at the karate school, a few doors away from the bar, he said.
He knew the school well, and had even slept there before. The victim studied at the school and, when Keith offered him a job, started teaching there as well.
When he woke in the middle of the night, he testified, he found himself handcuffed and with Keith performing oral sex on top of him.
"He said over and over he was my mortal master," the man said on the stand. "He told me to calm down, `If you don't calm down, I'm going to knock you out.''' Three months later, the victim reported the incident to police.
Batts argued there was no physical evidence - such as semen stains or handcuff abrasions - linking Keith to the alleged crime.
Keith did not testify. "It's his constitutional right," Batts said. Also, she acknowledged, anything Keith said in the case could be used against him in a second trial.
In the second case, Senior Judge M. Daniel Futch Jr. has excluded the 17-year-old boy's statement. He was meditating with Keith when the alleged assault occurred, so the statement was unreliable, the judge ruled on Feb. 14.
Prosecutor Bradley Weissman on Thursday said he was considering either appealing the judge's ruling or dropping the case.
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1995-05-31/news/9505310100_1_karate-instructor-sexual-battery-detective-tony-lewis
Karate Instructor Charged With Abuse
May 31, 1995|KEVIN DAVIS
WILTON MANORS - — A karate instructor was arrested Tuesday on charges he sexually abused two people at his school, police said.
Robert Keith, 43, co-owner of Bob Keith's Karate Center, 2717 N. Dixie Highway, was charged with kidnapping, four counts of sexual battery and 15 counts of indecent assault on a juvenile, Wilton Manors Detective Sgt. Pete Bigelsen said.
One victim, age 24, told police that after a night of drinking with Keith, he woke up in the karate studio handcuffed and discovered he had been sexually assaulted, Detective Tony Lewis said.
A 17-year-old boy told detectives that he, too, had been sexually assaulted over a four-year period, Lewis said.
Anyone with information is urged to call Lewis at 390-2150.
Karate Instructor Charged With Abuse
May 31, 1995|KEVIN DAVIS
WILTON MANORS - — A karate instructor was arrested Tuesday on charges he sexually abused two people at his school, police said.
Robert Keith, 43, co-owner of Bob Keith's Karate Center, 2717 N. Dixie Highway, was charged with kidnapping, four counts of sexual battery and 15 counts of indecent assault on a juvenile, Wilton Manors Detective Sgt. Pete Bigelsen said.
One victim, age 24, told police that after a night of drinking with Keith, he woke up in the karate studio handcuffed and discovered he had been sexually assaulted, Detective Tony Lewis said.
A 17-year-old boy told detectives that he, too, had been sexually assaulted over a four-year period, Lewis said.
Anyone with information is urged to call Lewis at 390-2150.