Defendant: ‘I was raised a thief.’

Danny Darling, left, and attorney Tim Hayes.

Defendant: ‘I was raised a thief.’

#OceanaCountyCrime

By Allison Scarbrough, Editor.

HART – A 55-year-old Hart man who was being sentenced Monday, Sept. 23, in 27th Circuit Court for a conviction of attempted failure to register as a sex offender told the judge that he was raised to be a “thief.”

Danny Ray Darling, of 602 State St., received a jail term of 196 days with credit for 196 days served.

Judge Robert D. Springstead noted that Darling has a criminal record of 11 felonies and 19 misdemeanors. “Next time you will get a long prison sentence,” Springstead warned him if he comes back before him for another criminal matter.

“I was raised as a kid to steal,” Darling said. “I had to or I would get a beating when I got home. I was raised a thief. I got mental problems. I’m not proud of it.”

Darling was sentenced to 10 months in jail in June of 2018 for two felony convictions of uttering and publishing. He illegally obtained the funds by cashing his paychecks twice, said Oceana County Prosecutor Joseph Bizon.

Sentencing guidelines in his current case are 0-17 months, Bizon said.

According to the Michigan Sex Offender Registry, Darling was convicted of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a victim under age 13, July 11, 1998, in Illinois. He was sentenced to lifetime registration.

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