WB resident pleads guilty to child sex crimes
Jun. 30—WILKES-BARRE — A city resident who police said sexually assaulted a 14-year-old last summer entered guilty pleas on numerous charges on Tuesday.
Robert Richard "Ruth" Tomko, 46, appeared in court on Tuesday before Luzerne County Judge David W. Lupas. Court records show Tomko entered a guilty plea on felony counts of aggravated indecent assault of a person less than 16, corruption of minors and unlawful contact with am minor.
Tomko also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of indecent assault and indecent exposure.
Tomko was arrested last July after Wilkes-Barre Township detectives and the Luzerne County District Attorney's Office said that Tomko had met with the victim on three separate occasions and assaulted them in a wooded area near Anastasia Court.
Officers posed as the victim, using the youth's cell phone, and they uncovered texts from Tomko proclaiming love for the victim.
Lupas scheduled Tomko's sentencing for Sept. 24. Tomko will also be evaluated by the state Sexual Offenders Assessment Board.
Tomko remains locked up for lack of $100,000 straight cash bail.
