Robert Samuel Wheeland - Sentencing
Last Update: 4/26/07
On 4/25/2007, convicted child rapist cop Robert Samuel Wheeland of Haskell, Oklahoma was formally sentenced following his earlier convictions on two counts of lewd molestation and one count of second-degree rape, in a case involving a 15-year-old female victim.
At Wheeland's sentencing his attorney Chad Richardson said:
Justice cannot be meted out in a vacuum. We must separate emotion and give him some credit for his service.
Assistant District Attorney Nikki Baker Dotson stated:
It is that service that was abused and used against us. He was one of us in law enforcement appointed to serve and protect, but he chose only to protect himself. He continues to blame the victim and make excuses for everything.
Associate District Judge Norman D. Thygesen, speaking in regard to Wheeland's years of service as a Haskell police officer spoke of a prominent figure of American history whose career included a commission to serve as commandant of West Point during the Revolutionary War era. In doing so Judge Thygesen pointed out:
He became much better known for what he did later in life. Benedict Arnold, the most notorious traitor in American history.
Judge Thygesen further stated:
I find this to be such a breach of the public trust that I cannot in good conscience order any other sentence than this.
