Man faces 70 months to 15 years in prison for CSC

Man faces 70 months to 15 years in prison for CSC

By Allison Scarbrough, Editor.

Quinton

HART — A 34-year-old Muskegon man faces 70 months (nearly six years) to 15 years in prison after pleading “no contest” to second-degree criminal sexual conduct in 51st Circuit Court Monday, May 1.

Cecil Paul Quinton, of 2798 Riverview Ave., was found mentally competent to answer criminal procedure after undergoing psychological testing, according to Oceana County Prosecutor Joseph Bizon.

Quinton also initially faced a charge of first-degree CSC stemming from an arrest by the Michigan State Police.

The victim is a girl who was 10 years old at the time of the offense, which occurred while the victim was camping in the Huron-Manistee National Forest near Hesperia, said Bizon.

“Cecil Paul Quinton was charged with CSC 1 and CSC 2 for a single incident — therefore a conviction for both would not be possible,” said Bizon. “The question of penetration was significant, because we were not sure what the victim would be able to testify to. It was agreed to by the mother of the victim that a plea to CSC 2 and an agreed sentence of 70 months to 15 years was in the victim’s best interest. The CSC 1 was dismissed.”

First-degree CSC is punishable by up to life in prison, and second-degree CSC carries a 15-year maximum term.

Quinton remains lodged in the Oceana County Jail on a $500,000/cash bond. His conviction requires lifetime electronic monitoring and sex offender registration.

Sentencing is scheduled for June 12 at 11:10 a.m.

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