HILLSDALE — A local man charged with numerous counts of possessing and distributing child sexually explicit material was due in court June 2 for sentencing. Instead, the case has been scheduled for a new plea hearing altogether.
Hillsdale County Prosecutor Jamie Wisniewski said, when Michael Allen Clason, 32, of Frontier, pled no contest as charged April 21, the wrong penalties were read into record. Erring on the side of caution, the 1st Judicial Circuit Court ordered the entire plea hearing be redone.
Wisniewski said the agreement will remain the same and Judge Sara Lisznyai will read transcripts from a police report at 1 p.m. June 5 to establish a factual basis for the plea.
Clason was arrested in February by the Michigan State Police and charged with three counts of aggravated possession of child sexually abusive material, three counts of aggravated distribution or promotion of child sexually abusive activity and using a computer to commit a crime.
According to investigators, images found in Clason’s possession didn’t appear to include anyone known to him, but were instead taken off the internet.
Clason’s bond of $400,000, not yet posted, was revoked after his plea April 21.
— Contact reporter Corey Murray at cmurray@hillsdale.net or follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @cmurrayhdn.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Judge orders new plea hearing in CSEM case against Michael Clason