Former county teacher pleads guilty

A former Carlton teacher and girls basketball coach pleaded guilty last week to four counts of felony criminal sexual conduct stemming from a sexual relationship with a student athlete nearly 20 years ago.

Robert Kent Pioro, 62, pleaded guilty to a total of four counts of felony third-degree criminal sexual conduct for engaging in sexual penetration with a person who was 16 years old when he was in a position of authority over the victim in an online hearing with Carlton County Sixth District Court Friday, Dec. 4.

The guilty pleas were the result of deals with both Carlton County and St. Louis County prosecutors, each with three charges based on the location of various sexual encounters between Pioro — who lived in Duluth at the time — and the victim, who was a student at Carlton High School. In return for the guilty pleas, two other identical charges were dismissed and both prosecutors agreed no additional charges would be filed regarding conduct alleged to have occurred in Douglas County, Wisconsin.

According to the criminal complaint, the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office received a call in November 2019 from the Family Pathways Victim Advocacy office in Carlton reporting a client was at their facility to report a sexual assault. The complaint states the officer spoke with an 36-year-old female reporting a pattern of sexual assault by Pioro beginning when she was 16.

The complaint stated that the woman said Pioro began to take notice of her when she was in eighth grade and shooting baskets in a gym. Her sophomore year, he began to develop a close relationship with the complainant, spending significant time with her while she practiced basketball in the morning at the school before classes began, the report said. He also allegedly bought her gifts and asked her to babysit his children.

The woman, identified only by her initials in court, said the relationship was initially like as with a father. According to the complaint, she said that changed in October 2000, when he invited her to his home in Duluth, when his (former) wife was away, and allegedly kissed her.

She was 16. He was 42.

That fall he asked her to be his teacher’s assistant at South Terrace, she reported, but they spent time alone at both Carlton schools and the Four Seasons Recreation Center. He allegedly hugged and kissed her on a regular basis, then things accelerated physically that fall and winter and the woman alleges multiple instances of digital penetration in Carlton County, hence the charges here.

Both prosecutors — Jeffrey Boucher for Carlton County and Jon Holets for St. Louis County — stressed the fact that Pioro was in a position of authority over the victim. Each prosecuting attorney walked the former teacher and coach through the alleged encounters, dating back almost two decades, and Pioro acknowledged the actions, although said he couldn’t always remember the exact date or location.

According to Minnesota State Statute, a person who engages in sexual penetration with another person is guilty of criminal sexual conduct in the third degree in a number of different scenarios, but one of those is “when the complainant is at least 16 but less than 18 years of age and the actor is more than 48 months older and in a current or recent position of authority over the complainant. Neither mistake as to the complainant’s age nor consent to the act by the complainant is a defense.”

“You were [her] coach, and you had control over her as a coach, is it fair to say,” Holets asked Pioro, who said yes. “You understand that’s something we call a position of authority, and in this case that’s how you’re charged for these two counts,” Holets added.

Pioro acknowledged digital (including oral) sexual penetration occurred in Carlton County Friday, although he wasn’t sure of the exact location within the county. Carlton County Assistant Attorney Jeffrey Boucher said it was enough that he testified they occurred in Carlton County. Boucher noted that his victim was also present, observing the online hearing.

According to the criminal complaint, the woman said Pioro invited her to his Duluth home in February or March of 2001 and had sex with her there for the first time.

In court Friday, Pioro acknowledged multiple instances of sexual intercourse on Skyline Parkway in Duluth around December 2001. The complaint also alleged multiple instances of sexual assault in St. Louis County, Ramsey County and Douglas County, Wisconsin.

Before pleading guilty Friday, Pioro acknowledged that he understood the guilty plea could result in a presumptive prison sentence, although he is free to ask the courts for a shorter sentence or probation only. Pioro’s attorney, David Keegan, also went through his rights with him before the pleas were heard. Pioro acknowledged he was giving up his right to a jury trial or to argue the case had exceeded the statute of limitations.

In response to the Pine Knot News, Boucher explained that because of the age of the case, the courts must use the law and sentencing guidelines in place at the time of the offense.

“We anticipate that the presumptive sentence will be 33 months with a range of 31-35 months,” the Carlton County assistant attorney said.

Judge Robert Macaulay deferred accepting the guilty pleas until the sentencing hearing, which was set for Feb. 5, with the idea of holding the hearing in person. He directed Pioro to cooperate with the presentence investigation and a psychosexual evaluation to be arranged by a probation officer.