Man sentenced to 10-15 years in prison for CSC.

Mallard appears in 27th Circuit Court from the Oceana County Jail via Zoom video conferencing in this January 2021 OCP file photo.

Man sentenced to 10-15 years in prison for CSC.

Defendant claims racial injustice and plans to appeal conviction.

By Allison Scarbrough, Editor.

HART — A 23-year-old Muskegon man was sentenced to 10-15 years in prison for a conviction of third-degree criminal sexual conduct (CSC) in 27th Circuit Court Monday, Oct. 4.

Robert Iree Mallard, who pleaded guilty to the charge July 12, made accusations of racial injustice by the court system during his sentencing hearing.

Mallard is one of four Muskegon men who were charged with CSC in connection to a child trafficking investigation conducted by a multi-jurisdictional task force including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) during the summer of 2020.

Mallard initially faced one count of first-degree CSC, which was dismissed in exchange for his plea to the lesser charge.

Sentencing guidelines in the case are 51-85 months, and Judge Robert D. Springstead exceeded the guidelines. Judge Springstead said Mallard has two previous felony convictions of carrying a concealed weapon in 2019 and 2020.

“Here again, I stand before the court to be sentenced for a crime that I didn’t commit,” said Mallard. “I’ve done my best in life to be a stand-up citizen. I worked with minor young kids at Holy Trinity Church to try to keep young kids from joining gangs and teach them there are better ways in life to live. I also went to job corps training to be in law enforcement as steps to have a better life for myself and to continue to help young kids lead a better life. But now my life has been taken from me because of multiple lies from the victim whose mother has been locked up for selling her own daughter for drugs on top of the victim being caught in bed with another man by her father who hasn’t been charged for the crime…”

Mallard went on to say that he was not allowed to withdraw his plea after he was “tricked” into pleading guilty without knowing what his guidelines were. He said the prosecutor just wanted to get another conviction under his belt “to look good in the community eye.”

Mallard said he was treated unfairly by the court system because of his “skin color.” He said, “This court has definitely shown how racially biased it is. There is zero evidence against me.”

He said that he plans to file an appeal of his conviction in the US Supreme Court. “I will not give up until true justice is brought forth. I am proud to say, Black Lives Matter, that’s it.”

When Mallard pleaded guilty last July, he said, “I took this plea because I want to get out faster because I just had a newborn daughter.” His case was scheduled to go to trial, but he had a “change of heart” and opted to take a plea, said his attorney Ryan Good.

“This case, as are all of our cases, was prosecuted based on the evidence available and an attempt to serve the interests of justice,” said Oceana County Prosecutor Joseph Bizon.

The judge, who gave him credit for 402 days served in jail, noted that there was a plea agreement in the case for the prison term.

Also convicted of a felony third-degree CSC in connection to the case is Dwight Bernard McKinney, 18. McKinney is scheduled for sentencing Oct. 18 at 8:50 a.m. He faces a five to 15 year prison term in exchange for his guilty plea, July 26. He initially faced three counts of first-degree CSC. McKinney was released from jail after posting a $75,000/cash/surety bond.

Jermaine Lamar Chapman, 25, faces a first-degree CSC charge and two charges of second-degree CSC in Muskegon County in the connection to the case. He is lodged in the Muskegon County Jail on a $1.5 million cash/surety bond, according to jail records. He is scheduled to appear in Muskegon County’s 14th Circuit Court Monday, Oct. 11. Quonteravious Moffett, 20, of Muskegon faces one count of third-degree CSC and is lodged in the Muskegon County Jail on a $250,000 bond, according to jail records.

The massive investigation began July 23, 2020 at 6:30 a.m. when an Oceana County sheriff’s deputy was dispatched to a Grant Township residence, Oceana County Sheriff Craig Mast previously said.

The girl’s father saw what appeared to be a man’s legs in his daughter’s bed. The male ran from the residence, and the dad called police. That incident prompted an investigation that the girl was sexually assaulted by several men. Evidence was uncovered indicating that the men would sneak out through the bedroom window and give the girl alcohol and drugs while sexually assaulting her. Evidence also indicated that the girl would sneak out of the house through her bedroom window and leave with the men. The girl was allegedly threatened if she told anyone, police said, because there were videos she wouldn’t want anyone to see.

“The investigation overturned substantial amounts of evidence implicating the suspects,” said Sheriff Mast previously. “The investigation snowballed.”

A task force involving both sheriff’s offices from Oceana and Muskegon counties, the Michigan State Police and the FBI were involved.

The male who fled the home when startled by the father was a 16-year-old who was not accused of any crimes.

The girl met one of the suspects through social media.

Please consider helping to fund local news. Mason County Press and Oceana County Press are available for free thanks to the generous support of our advertisers and individuals who support our service. Click on the PayPal donation button located on the top right of our website.

This story is copyrighted © 2021, all rights reserved by Media Group 31, LLC, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. No portion of this story or images may be reproduced in any way, including print or broadcast, without expressed written consent.

As the services of Media Group 31, LLC are news services, the information posted within the sites are archivable for public record and historical posterity. For this reason it is the policy and practice of this company to not delete postings. It is the editor’s discretion to update or edit a story when/if new information becomes available. This may be done by editing the posted story or posting a new “follow-up” story. Media Group 31, LLC or any of its agents have the right to make any changes to this policy. Refer to Use Policy for more information