Lenawee County judge sentences man to prison for sexually abusing child

ADRIAN — A man who pleaded guilty to sexual crimes against his soon-to-be stepdaughter was sent to prison Friday by a Lenawee County Circuit Court judge.

Judge Michael R. Olsaver sentenced Deren William Johnson, 41, to at least 32 years and one month in prison with consecutive sentences for the charges to which Johnson pleaded guilty in September: first-degree criminal sexual conduct during a felony and child sexual conduct. aggravating sexual abuse. activity Olsaver ordered Johnson to be sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison for the CSC charge and 7 years, 1 month to 25 years for the sexual abuse charge. He gave himself 369 days credit for time spent in jail since his arrest last October.

Johnson’s attorney, Lenawee County Chief Public Defender John Glaser and Lenawee County Deputy Prosecutor Allison Arnold said after the hearing that Johnson will first have to serve at least two sentences. Arnold said that these people would be eligible for parole only after the sentence was served.

Olsaver exceeded minimum sentencing guidelines calculated through the state guideline formula for the criminal sexual conduct charge. The guidelines recommended that the minimum sentence for this charge be between nine and 15 years. Two other criminal sexual conduct charges dismissed as part of the plea agreement carried a possible life sentence, and evidence presented at the plea hearing and through a pre-sentence investigation by the circuit court probation department supported a conviction on those charges, he said. . He also said the crimes were committed at the 9-year-old victim’s home by a man who would have been his stepfather while he was sleeping or pretending to be asleep, and that sentencing guidelines did not take into account the trauma that could have affected the 9-year-old victim. girl for the rest of her life.

Sentences on multiple charges are often imposed simultaneously. Olsaver said consecutive sentences were necessary in this case because of the number of original charges against Johnson, that the crimes were committed “regularly and repeatedly in excessive numbers” over a two-year period, and that police found Johnson had approximately 550 cases. child sexual abuse material — legal term for photographs or videos of children that are sexual in nature.

Twelve more charges against Johnson – three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct where the victim is under 13 and the defendant is over 17, three counts of aggravated child sexual abuse activity, aggravated possession of child sexual abuse material, four counts of using a computer to commit a crime A sentence of up to 20 years for the crime and a sentence of up to 10 years for the charge of using a computer to commit a crime were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

Richelle Petty, a victim rights advocate from the prosecutor’s office, read victim statements from both the victim and her mother. The victim, now 12, said she was taking a shower and saw Johnson place her cell phone in front of and behind the shower curtain. She said she tried to take the phone from him but he kept it away from her.

Petty also read that he touched her while she was in bed, which made her afraid to go to bed. He said he was happy he was in prison but was nervous when he learned when he would be sentenced.

“I’m not afraid of him anymore and I’m braver,” Petty said, reading the statement.

The girl’s mother said she will not forget the night of October 2023 when she was startled awake by Michigan State Police troopers knocking on the door of her home. He let them in, asking why they were there. He said he could never imagine what they were investigating.

She described the psychological effects of the abuse she and her daughter experienced and other problems the case caused her. The girl’s mother asked Olsaver for justice for her daughter.

“His innocence was ripped away by this monster when he was 9 years old…someone we thought we could trust,” Petty read.

Glaser told Olsaver that Johnson could go to trial to argue there was no penetration, but he pleaded guilty because jury instructions in first-degree criminal sexual conduct cases say no penetration, no matter how slight, would qualify for a conviction .

Glaser said he was not making excuses for Johnson’s behavior, which he described as “horrible.”

“He knows he needs to get counseling to get this handled,” Glaser said.

He asked Olsaver to consider that Johnson had no prior criminal history and suggested that a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison was “a pretty good sentence for what he did here” because defendants in CSC cases often don’t get parole their first time or two. Before the parole board. He also asked Olsaver to make the sentences run concurrent if he opts for the minimum sentences at the top end of the guidelines.

Arnold asked Olsaver to follow the probation department’s recommendation to impose a sentence of 25 to 50 years with consecutive sentences due to the nature of the crimes, and noted in the pre-sentence investigation report that Johnson blamed the victim for what he did.

Johnson refused to give evidence to the court.

In addition to the prison sentence, Olsaver ordered Johnson to register as a sex offender for life, wear an electronic monitoring device for life and pay $166 in court costs. He said the prosecution could seek compensation if there was a more complete accounting of the costs the victim’s family incurred as a result of the crimes, such as counseling.

— Contact reporter David Panian: [email protected] or follow him on X (formerly Twitter): @lenaweepanian.

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