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Russell
By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor
LUDINGTON — The sentencing hearing for a 21-year-old Ludington man convicted of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and probation violation was adjourned (postponed) Tuesday, April 22, in Mason County’s 51st Circuit Court.
Caleb Isiah Russell’s sentencing guidelines are 78-162 months (6 ½ to 14 ⅓ years), said Mason County Prosecuting Attorney Beth Hand. Sentencing guidelines help determine the minimum end of the term, while the maximum is set by statute. The maximum penalty for third-degree CSC is 15 years in prison. He pleaded guilty to the charge Jan. 28, 2025.
Hand said there was a Cobbs agreement with the court and the defendant that called for a recommendation at the lower end of the guidelines. The prosecutor said she is asking for the minimum term to be “more in the middle of the guidelines instead of the bottom.
“This is an individual who has been in the criminal justice system since 2018 beginning as a juvenile.”
He engaged in sexual conduct with a 13-year-old girl during “repeated contacts with her,” said the prosecutor. “He lied to her and told her he was 18.”
Russell was sentenced July 18, 2023 to 10 months in jail and five years probation for a conviction of fourth-degree CSC, which involved the sexual assault of a 15-year-old victim at the Scottville branch of the Mason County District Library, said Hand.
“What’s concerning me is the documentation basis of the Cobbs agreement,” said Judge Susan K. Sniegowski. “I need time to review this.”
Russell’s sentencing hearing was adjourned to June 17 at 11:50 a.m. He remains lodged in the Mason County Jail on a $50,000 bond.
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