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A former Cranberry Township resident, who has been deemed a Tier III sexual offender under the state's Megan's Law and is serving a 16- to 62-year state prison sentence after being found guilty of sexual assault involving a minor in 2018 in Chester County, pleaded guilty Monday in Common Pleas Court to sexually assaulting two minors when he lived in the township in 2004 and 2005.
Robert D. Caesar, 59, of Oxford, Chester County, pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent assault and was ordered to undergo a sexual offender evaluation.
Judge William R. Shaffer accepted a plea agreement negotiated by county prosecutors and Caesar's attorney, Nathan Bible, and ordered the evaluation to be conducted within 90 days. He said Caesar will be sentenced after the evaluation is completed. A sentencing date was not scheduled.
Township police charged Caesar in 2018 with involuntary deviate sexual assault of a person less than 16 years old, indecent assault of a person under 16 years old, indecent assault of a person less than 13 years old, possession of an instrument of crime and two counts of corruption of minors stemming from incidents that took place between May 1, 2004, and July 1, 2005. The victims were two boys, ages 9 and 14.
According to court records, one victim said Caesar invited him into his basement, where he asked the victim to model underwear and bathing suits, so he could take digital images. A search of his home at the time allegedly found 76 pairs of boys' underwear that Caesar said were sent randomly to him after placing a different order on eBay.
A search of his computer found “numerous searches for young boys and teen boy's underwear, both new and used” as well as visits to pornographic websites, where he searched for videos of young men and boys engaging in sexual acts.
The two charges he pleaded guilty to were added as a part of the plea agreement, which calls for Caesar to serve two consecutive prison terms of three to nine months concurrently with the sentence imposed in Chester County, said Patricia McLean, first assistant district attorney.
At his trial in Chester County in August 2020, a jury found him guilty of eight counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, four counts of statutory sexual assault, eight counts of unlawful contact with a minor, two counts of corruption of minors, two counts of endangering the welfare of children and a count of allowing a child to view photos or films of sexual acts on a computer. Twenty-one similar charges were withdrawn.
The state police Megan's Law website shows Caesar was registered as a Tier III offender on June 16. Tier III offenders are required to register with state police for the rest of their lives.
Caesar attended his plea hearing Monday virtually from the State Correctional Institution — Rockview in Centre County. He answered questions from his attorney and the judge indicating he understood the plea agreement and the assessment.
