Jason Futch
Robert Lee Mincks was sentenced to 35 years in the Florida Department of Corrections following a plea agreement hearing on Wednesday, Jan. 28, at the Suwannee County Courthouse.
Mincks was charged with lewd and lascivious molestation of a minor following an investigation that began in January 2025. According to the investigation, the incident was reported to the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office by the victim and a relative. The report stated that Mincks sexually abused the victim, who was a 12-year-old Suwannee County resident at the time. Neither the victim nor her family was present in the courtroom.
During the hearing, Assistant State Attorney Melissa Blackwell said the victim’s family supported the plea agreement, citing a desire to avoid a trial and prevent re-victimization of the unidentified victim. Blackwell noted that Mincks was a former officer with the Madison Police Department at the time of the incident. He was placed on administrative leave during the investigation and later terminated in June, when he was arrested.
Mincks’s attorney, Karen Hatton, told Circuit Judge Mark Feagle that accepting the plea agreement was in Mincks’s best interest, noting the charges were capital in nature. Had Mincks pursued a trial and been found guilty, he would have faced a mandatory life sentence.
When asked by the court whether he had received adequate legal representation from Hatton, Mincks said he had not and expressed his displeasure, but said he wanted the sentencing to proceed. Mincks told Judge Feagle that the victim had acted of her own free will, refusing to take accountability for the crime.
Blackwell countered Mincks’s statements, saying he made inconsistent claims throughout the pre-trial process, including assertions that he did not know what was going on. However, Mincks stated that was not true. Blackwell countered that Mincks “has a problem with taking responsibility for himself.”
“It was made clear we have the necessary DNA evidence that connects the defendant to the crime, and he confessed to a large portion of the crime,” Blackwell said. “We also have a recorded post-Miranda interview, as well as social media searches that were incriminating.”
Blackwell further stated that if Mincks declined the plea deal based on his claims of poor representation, the state would convene a grand jury and proceed toward a capital trial.
In addition to the 35-year sentence, Mincks was ordered to serve lifetime supervision following release from prison and was designated a sexual predator due to the victim being 12 years of age or younger.