By John Raffel
Correspondent
MARION – Osceola County Circuit Court Judge, Kimberly Booher, on Jan. 19. sentenced Richard Shoemaker, 50 years old, of 335 South Sears, Reed City, to three consecutive terms of 25 years each following a two-day jury trial where Shoemaker was convicted of three counts of criminal sexual conduct in the first Degree MCL 750.520B2B (Victim under 13 years of age and Defendant 17 years of age or older)
Each conviction carries a mandatory 25-year minimum sentence and the judge has discretion to run the sentences concurrently or consecutive prosecutor, Anthony Badovinac, said. There is also mandatory Sexual Registry Reporting requirements and life long electronic tethering.
The charges stem from 2009 and 2010 actions by the defendant and an under-aged female.
Badovinac, called the verdict, “well founded” and noted that ‘actions like these affect a victim for the rest of their lives as well as the lives of their kinsmen and that needs to be considered when sentencing defendants who prey on minor children.”