Convicted sex offender pleads ‘no contest’ to child abuse.

Cledis Montgomery with his attorney, Julie Springstead Waltz.

Convicted sex offender pleads ‘no contest’ to child abuse.

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By Allison Scarbrough. Editor.

HART — A 40-year-old Muskegon man, who is a convicted sex offender, pleaded “no contest” in 27th Circuit Court Monday, Nov. 21, to third-degree child abuse.

In exchange for Cledis James Montgomery’s plea, one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a victim under 13 was dismissed.

The maximum penalty for a third-degree child abuse conviction is two years in prison and up to five years probation, said Judge Anthony A. Monton.

The plea was reached to spare the victim from from having to endure a trial, said Oceana County Prosecutor Joseph Bizon. Montgomery’s sentence will be “consistent” with what he would have received had he gone through trial, Bizon said. The prosecutor worked with the female victim and her mother to reach a resolution in the case. “It was done with their permission and consent,” he said.

Montgomery is already a registered sex offender, he said. According to the Offender Tracking Information System (OTIS), he served a prison term of two years and five months for a Muskegon County conviction of second-degree CSC – victim under 13. It was a 2005 offense, and he was sentenced in September of 2013, according to OTIS. Montgomery was parolled last April.

Montgomery was arrested by the Michigan State Police for the Oceana County offense last June, according to court records. The incident occurred over three years ago, Bizon said.

Sentencing is set for Jan. 18 at 9 a.m. He was remanded to the Oceana County Jail where he is being held on a $25,000/cash/surety bond.