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Treesh
By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor
LUDINGTON — A 36-year-old Ludington mother pleaded “no contest” to second-degree child abuse in Mason County’s 51st Circuit Court Tuesday, July 16.
Tara Lynn Treesh’s plea includes a sentencing agreement of 20 months to 10 years in prison. However, because Treesh has already served 22 months in jail, she will be immediately eligible for parole, according to her attorney Andrew LaPres.
“In December of 2021, Treesh brought her unresponsive 2-year-old child to Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital,” states a press release from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office. “Due to the severity of his injuries, the child was required to be transferred by helicopter to Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids for intensive care and surgery. While Treesh claimed the child may have fallen from his crib, a pediatric specialist indicated the injuries were not consistent with that type of fall. Treesh has since terminated her parental rights.”
“Every child deserves to grow up in a loving, caring household free from fear of abuse and trauma,” AG Nessel states. “Swift medical attention and legal actions have ensured that the child in this case is now in a safe environment. It is my hope that he can now begin the long process of healing and thrive. My department will continue to pursue justice for children who suffer from such inexcusable harm.”
Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 24 before Judge Susan K. Sniegowski.
Treesh’s boyfriend was also initially charged in the child abuse case, but the charges were dismissed when he pleaded in a separate case.
Kevin James Kaiser, 30, of Ludington, pleaded guilty to assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, Feb. 28, and charges of first-degree child abuse — which is punishable by up to life in prison — and maintaining a drug house were dismissed.
Former Mason County Prosecuting Attorney Lauren Kreinbrink previously said the incident took place Dec. 14, 2021 in the City of Ludington. She said Treesh brought her then 2-year-old son to Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital Emergency Department for treatment of injuries. The boy was then transferred to Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids because of the severity of injuries, Kreinbrink said.
“I became involved because the extent of injuries of the child indicated that it was possible that he was not going to survive,” Kreinbrink said. “Thankfully, because of the medical treatment he received, he has survived. He is currently in the care of his maternal grandparents.”
Kreinbrink said Kaiser was in a relationship with Treesh and living with her at the time of the incident but is not the father of the child.
Kaiser
Kaiser was sentenced, May 21, to 65 months (almost 5 ½ years) to 20 years in prison for a conviction of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder for stabbing a man. He also received a concurrent term of 80 months (6 ⅔ years) to 10 years in prison for a probation violation conviction. Kaiser’s probation violation stems from a 2020 case in which he pleaded guilty to aggravated stalking and two counts of assaulting/resisting/obstructing police and received a sentence of one year in jail and five years probation. The co-defendant in that case was his father, Jeffrey Kaiser. A charge of accessory after the fact to a felony was dismissed against the 61-year-old Kaiser.
Kevin Kaiser has five prior felonies and six previous misdemeanor convictions, along with a juvenile record, said Judge Sniegowski.
Treesh was also charged with maintaining a drug house in connection to the case and methamphetamine possession in a separate case, and those charges will be dismissed in exchange for her plea to child abuse, said her attorney Andrew LaPres.
“It has been a really long road for her,” said LaPres. “It was clear from the start that she was not the person who hurt this child. It was obviously the male who was living at the home (Kaiser). She struggled with drugs for a long time, and she got wrapped up in a terrible lifestyle, and her son got hurt. She didn’t intend for it to happen, and she obviously was not the person who hurt her child.
“At this point, she has served almost two years (in jail). If we went to trial on it, the attorney general’s office indicated that they would up her charge to first-degree child abuse. It wasn’t worth rolling the dice on that.”
The maximum term for second-degree child abuse is 10 years in prison.
“She terminated her parental rights — she agreed to do that,” said LaPres. “Her children were placed with her parents.” The attorney said Treesh has other children — possibly three, one of whom is a teenager, who are now in the custody of Treesh’s parents.
“As far as I know he’s made a full recovery or a near full recovery,” he said of the injured toddler.
“She’s certainly remorseful and is very torn up over the whole situation. It’s unfortunate all the way around — there is no winner here at all.”
LaPres said Treesh has 22 months of jail credit. “She has to be turned over to the Michigan Department of Corrections, because it’s a prison sentence. She will be immediately eligible for parole.”
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