Dustin Sutton (MDOC)
WEXFORD COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A Washington man who sexually assaulted a girl multiple times while staying at her Michigan home more than a decade ago is now in prison for the crimes.
Dustin Lee Sutton, 34, pleaded guilty to three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.
The backstory:
According to Attorney General Dana Nessel's office, Sutton, previously from Cadillac, visited Michigan in 2014 when he was 23 and stayed with relatives in Manton. During that visit, he sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl overnight, authorities said.
The victim reported the crime the following year, when Sutton was home in Yakima, Wash.
Michigan State Police conducted an investigation and charges were issued in 2015. However, he was never extradited back to Michigan to face the charges.
Last December, he was arrested and moved to Michigan as part of the U.S. Marshals Service as part of Operation Survivor Justice. He was charged with criminal sexual conduct, and pleaded guilty to the charges in June.
Sutton was sentenced to 6-15 years in prison on Monday.
What they're saying:
Before sentencing, the victim provided a victim impact statement to the court.
It read in part, "I have spent a decade trying to heal myself without answers. Anger is the only thing that comes up when I talk/think about this. I feel sick to my stomach still thinking of him touching my body and not being able to protect myself."
She went on to write "People like this are a danger to society and children especially. I am glad I decided to go through with this to prove that the trauma of what happens may dull mentally by blocking it out, but the body? That never forgets. The way I feel when I look at myself will never go away because of men like this. It saddens me that these things still continue to happen."
The Source: This information is from a press release from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
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