Man sentenced to 4-15 years in prison for CSC.

Badour

Man sentenced to 4-15 years in prison for CSC.

#MasonCountyCrime

By Allison Scarbrough, Editor.

LUDINGTON — A 22-year-old homeless man convicted of third-degree criminal sexual conduct (CSC) was sentenced to four to 15 years in prison in Mason County’s 51st Circuit Court Tuesday, April 21.

Westley Michael Badour pleaded guilty Feb. 18.

Tuesday’s court proceedings were handled via Zoom videoconferencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and future proceedings are expected to be done that way for the time being.

Badour testified that he had sex with a 15-year-old girl between Jan. 23, 2019 and Feb. 24, 2019 in the 4000 block of Angling Road in Hamlin Township. When asked by Judge Susan K. Sniegowski if he knew that she was 15, Badour said that he knew.

Badour’s attorney, Tracie Dinehart, said her client suffers from “extreme developmental issues.” He has a juvenile record of second-degree CSC when he was 15-years-old. He was 15 years old physically at the the time of juvenile case, but his mental capacity was that of an 8-or 9-year-old, Dinehart said.

Dinehart, who asked Judge Sniegowski for her client to be sentenced under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act (HYTA), said the incident was not a “forcible rape” or “coercion.” She said it was “consensual between an underage individual and an adult.”

Judge Sniegowksi denied the request for HYTA.

A charge of first-degree CSC, which is punishable by up to life in prison, was dismissed when he pleaded to the lesser charge. Badour will have to register as a sex offender.

Sentencing guidelines in the case are 36-60 months, and the plea agreement called for a sentence of 48-180 months, which is four to 15 years.

The maximum penalty for third-degree CSC is 15 years in prison.

Badour received credit for 204 days served in jail.

This story is copyrighted © 2020, 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.