Man pleads ‘no contest’ to aggravated assault, avoids CSC conviction.

Cilman appears in court via Zoom video conferencing.

Man pleads ‘no contest’ to aggravated assault, avoids CSC conviction.

By Allison Scarbrough, Editor.

LUDINGTON — A 60-year-old Amber Township man pleaded “no contest” to aggravated assault in 51st Circuit Court Tuesday, Dec. 15, avoiding a fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct (CSC) conviction.

Paul Arthur Cilman, of 3192 W. Conrad Road, was sentenced to serve a one-year discretionary jail term and one year probation. Cilman was ordered to undergo a sex offender evaluation and a substance abuse evaluation. He must also have no contact with the victim, who is a 16-year-old girl.

Aggravated assault is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail, and fourth-degree CSC is a high-court misdemeanor that carries a two-year maximum.

The incident, which involved Cilman touching the girl’s breast, occurred Dec. 28, 2019 in Amber Township, said Mason County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Lauren Kreinbrink. The victim has undergone psychological treatment as a result.

“He preyed upon me when I was most vulnerable while I was asleep,” the victim stated in a letter that her mother read in court. “Now I have to take medication to get any sleep most nights.

“This violation, this pain could be a sentence for life for me, and he does not care. He just makes excuse after excuse.”

“What Paul did wreaked havoc on my entire life,” the mother read from her own statement.

Cilman had no prior criminal history, said his attorney Jennifer Weise. The victim’s letter is very different from the testimony during the preliminary exam, said Weise. “The letter is much more detailed and much more graphic — much more shocking to the conscience.”

“Reading the preliminary exam transcript, the offer that was made in this case makes a lot of sense to the court that there are definite reasons in the factual presentation of the case as to why it would have been pled down to a misdemeanor offense,” said Judge Susan K. Sniegowski.

Cilman had no comment.

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