A former Florida mental health therapist was sentenced in a case of child sexual abuse and will be spending the next 17 years behind bars.
Flagler County deputies initially arrested Robert Neal Batie in August 2022 after a child female victim reported Batie molested her during a counseling session on June 29.
The victim stated that she had been attending therapy sessions at the facility for the previous five months. During that session, Batie engaged in several unlawful sexual misconducts with her, according to deputies.
On November 28, 2022, while at the Flagler County Courthouse, Robert Neil Batie pled guilty to four sexual-related offenses that he was arrested for on August 3, 2021, by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
The offenses and sentences are as follows.
• Sexual Battery (Minor 12-18 years of age) by Person in Familial or Custodial Authority; 17-year sentence
• Sexual Misconduct by a Psychotherapist; 5-year sentence
• Count 1 – Unlawful Sexual Activity with Certain Minors; 15-year sentence
• Count 2 – Unlawful Sexual Activity with Certain Minors; 13 years of sex offender probation
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Additionally, Batie was ordered to relinquish his mental health counselor certificate and he is prohibited from being employed as a mental health therapist in the future.
Batie’s prison sentence will be served concurrently, followed by 13 years of sex offender probation after his release from prison. Batie will also be a registered sexual predator upon his release.
“This disgusting pervert will spend the next 17 years behind bars where he belongs and then 13 years of probation. Thank you to all involved in the investigation and prosecution of this individual that took advantage of a child under his care,” said Sheriff Rick Staly.
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