A Caseville man was found guilty Wednesday on 20 counts of criminal sexual conduct.
The 20 counts consist of 10 counts of Criminal Sexual Conduct (CSC) in the 1st Degree and 10 counts of CSC in the 2nd Degree. The charges were brought after information about years of abuse by Kessler’s hand was shared with Huron County authorities in May 2023.
He was initially charged with one count of CSC 1st Degree and two counts of CSC 2nd, but based on further testimony, Judge David Herrington, 73B District Court Judge, bound the defendant over for trial in Circuit Court on 10 counts each of CSC 1st and of CSC 2nd.
A jury trial was held on July 23rd and 24th before the Honorable James T. Borchard, a retired visiting judge. It took the jury of eight men and four women less than an hour to find Kessler guilty of all charges. After hearing the verdict, the Court revoked the defendant’s bond and remanded him to the Huron County Jail. Judge Borchard scheduled sentencing for Kessler on Monday, September 30, 2024, at 9am.
The maximum sentence for the CSC 1st Degree charges is life in prison. The ten counts of CSC 1st also included enhancement language that set the minimum amount of incarceration at 25 years in prison.
