Evart man, 34, pleads guilty to sex with 15-year-old

LUDINGTON — A 34-year-old Evart man pleaded guilty Tuesday in 51st Circuit Court for criminal sexual conduct against a 15-year-old girl. The incident took place on June 3, 2012 when the two met each other hiking at the Ludington State Park.

Initially, Lauren Davin Derscheid, 4181 70th Ave., Evart, was arrested on Aug. 27 by Mason County Sheriff’s Office and was charged with three counts: CSC third degree, sexual penetration with a child between the ages of 13 and 16; CSC fourth degree, an allegation that the victim is at least 13 but less than 16 and that the defendant is five or more years older; accosting a chlid for immoral purposes.

The girl was not in the courtroom.

Derscheid accepted a plea agreement from the Mason County Prosecutor’s Office which drops the first two counts and adds a fourth count of attempted CSC third degree, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Derscheid testified that on June 3 he was camping at Ludington State Park and went for a hike on a trail. He said he met the 15-year-old girl on a trail. Derscheid’s attorney said he did not know the girl’s age until after they had sex and that the sex was consensual.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 7, 2014.