Husband of SC Food Network star sent to prison in death of 3-year-old foster daughter

A Simpsonville man was sentenced to 20 years in prison Thursday for not stepping in to save his foster daughter from being beaten to death by his wife.

Judge Letitia Verdin said Austin Robinson deserved the maximum sentence for aiding and abetting homicide by child abuse in what she called the worst child abuse she has seen in more than a dozen years on the bench.

Robinson pleaded guilty April 14 to homicide by child abuse in the death of 3-year-old Victoria Rose Smith.

His wife, Ariel Robinson, a winner of the Food Network Show “Worst Cooks in America,” was found guilty May 12, after a four-day trial. Verdin sentenced Ariel Robinson to life in prison.

Verdin gave Austin Robinson credit for five years.

Austin Robinson’s aunt and cousin described him as a gentle giant, a Teddy bear and appealed to the judge for leniency.

Robinson asked the judge to keep him on house arrest, a sentence his lawyer Lucas Marchant said he knew was not possible.

He asked for the minimum sentence of 10 years, describing Robinson as an abused spouse under the control of his wife. Marchant said if not for Ariel Robinson, his client would never have been in trouble.

Verdin acknowledged the defendant’s position but said, “You not only failed Tori, you failed all the children in this household.“

The Robinsons have two sons in addition to the foster children, Tori, and her two brothers.

“You participated in a cover-up,” Verdin told Robinson. “Your actions were omission, not commission.”

Tori’s biological family said they were pleased the legal proceedings were over and vowed to work to reform aspects of Department of Social Services procedures that failed children in their care.

In her trial last month, Ariel Robinson testified she did not hurt Victoria, who she and her husband were scheduled to adopt a few days after the child died Jan. 14, 2021. Victoria’s two older brothers are now in another foster home.

Austin Robinson testified against his wife saying he heard the girl’s screams from outside his house as his wife beat her with a belt for more than an hour, and when he saw the bruising told his wife, “You’ve gone too far this time.” His wife, he said, was mad because Victoria was not eating pancakes fast enough.

Victoria died of internal bleeding from blows to her legs, which the medical examiner testified were innumerable.

He said he initially lied about the abuse his wife inflicted on Victoria because he did not want to lose their family.

Defense attorney Bill Bouton tried to show Austin Robinson as a habitual liar through a 14-year marriage, lying about graduating from high school, earning a GED and losing two jobs.

Robinson had originally been charged with homicide by child abuse.

Ariel Robinson, 30, is undergoing evaluation at the Camille Graham Correctional Institution in Columbia before receiving a permanent placement. She’s been there since May 19. South Carolina also has a women’s prison, Leath, in Greenwood.