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Daniel Durbin with his court-appointed attorney, Richard Prysock
CSC case heads to trial.
#OceanaCountyCrime
By Allison Scarbrough. Editor.
HART — The criminal sexual conduct (CSC) case against a 34-year-old Holton man is heading to trial.
Daniel James Durbin, of 9260 S. 180th Ave., rejected a plea agreement offered by the Oceana County Prosecutor’s Office Monday, Dec. 18, in 27th Circuit Court that called for a minimum of seven years in prison. If Durbin is convicted by jury, he faces 8.25 years to 20 years in prison.
Durbin is charged with two felony counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct (CSC), each of which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison; two felony counts of accosting children for immoral purposes, each of which carry a four-year maximum; one felony count of committing gross indecency between a male and female, which is punishable by up to five years in prison; one high-court misdemeanor of fourth-degree CSC, which carries a two-year maximum; and third-offense habitual offender designation. His bail was set at $50,000/cash.
The plea deal entailed a guilty plea to one count while dismissing the other counts and capping his prison time at 84 months. If he’s convicted at trial of all charges, he would be incarcerated for 99-240 months, said Judge Robert D. Springstead.
“You would avoid five other felonies,” the judge told him. The plea agreement would also include Durbin pleading guilty to habitual offender.
“I’m not guilty,” he told the judge.
The case is being scheduled for for a three-day jury trial.
The alleged sex crimes occurred in Greenwood Township near Hesperia during a time period of Aug. 1, 2016 to July 2, 2017, according to his court file.
Durbin’s girlfriend, 31-year-old Ericka Lee Byler of the same address, was sentenced earlier this month to serve six months up front of a nine-month discretionary jail term for her involvement in the case.
Byler is convicted of accessory after the fact in the sex case in which children were allegedly victimized by Durbin.
She pleaded “no contest” to accessory after the fact last October. Byler, who had no prior criminal record, was also sentenced to 18 months probation.
Byler was initially charged with a felony count of committing gross indecency between a male and female; two felony counts of accosting children for immoral purposes; bribing/intimidating witnesses, which is a four-year felony; and accessory to a felony after the fact, a five-year felony. The other four counts were dismissed when she pleaded to the most serious charge.
According to the Offender Tracking Information System (OTIS), Durbin has served three previous prison terms. He was sentenced in 2004 in Ingham County to a three-year maximum sentence for malicious destruction of property to a building $1,000-$20,000. In 2010, he was sentenced in Oceana County to a maximum term of two years for a conviction of assault with a dangerous weapon. Durbin also served a one-year maximum sentence in 2015 for a conviction of maintaining a drug house in Isabella County.
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