Man sentenced for sexually assaulting a girl over a decade ago when she was 13

WEXFORD COUNTY, Mich. (TCN) — A 34-year-old man was recently sentenced for sexually assaulting a minor over a decade ago while staying at the home of family members.

The Michigan Attorney General’s Office announced that on July 14, Dustin Sutton, most recently of the state of Washington, received six to 15 years in prison. He previously pleaded guilty in June to three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

In 2014, Sutton, who was 23 at the time, was staying overnight at the home of relatives in Manton, Michigan, when he sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl multiple times. The child reported the sexual abuse the following year when Sutton was living in Yakima, Washington.

The Michigan State Police launched an investigation and filed charges that year, but Sutton wasn’t extradited to Michigan. Authorities arrested him in December 2024, and U.S. Marshals helped transport him to Michigan.

The victim reportedly provided an impact statement before the defendant’s sentencing, saying, “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 also wrote, “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.”

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