jriddle@thealpenanews.com
News Photo by Julie Riddle
Jeremiah McLean waits beside attorney Ron Bayot in Alpena’s 26th Circuit Court on Tuesday. McLean pleaded no contest to raping a minor.
ALPENA A man will spend at least 10 years behind bars after accepting a plea deal in the sexual assault of an Alpena teen.
Though declaring himself innocent, Jeremiah McLean on Tuesday pleaded no contest to accusations that he bound, raped, and strangled a 15-year-old girl at an Alpena cemetery in June.
The News does not identify victims of sexual assault.
At the request of the girl’s family, Judge Ed Black sentenced McLean to 10 years in prison, far short of the 18 years recommended by the Michigan Department of Corrections and the life sentence possible with a first-degree rape charge.
Jeremiah Leeford McLean
ALPENA Jeremiah McLean, accused of raping a 15-year-old girl and keeping her captive in a makeshift shack in the woods near an Alpena cemetery in June, isn’t ready to settle for the 13 years in prison a guilty plea would probably net him, an attorney for McLean said in Alpena’s 26th Circuit Court on Tuesday.
Judge Ed Black said that, if McLean agrees to a guilty plea, he’d likely sentence McLean to 13 years behind bars based on a report provided by the Michigan Department of Corrections despite a plea from defense attorney Ron Bayot to consider 10 years because of McLean’s relatively clean record.
ALPENA Circuit Court Judge Ed Black on Monday refused to release Jeremiah McLean from jail.
McLean, 23, is accused of kidnapping and raping a 15-year old girl in a makeshift cabin behind the Evergreen Cemetery in Alpena. He also faces other charges related to the alleged incident.
He faces up to life in prison.
McLean’s attorney, Ron Bayot, cited the state’s “180 day rule,” as one reason his client should be released.
The Constitution gives defendants the right to a speedy trial, and Michigan’s speedy trial rules allow those in jail for 180 days without going to trial to be released. It wasn’t immediately clear how many days McLean has been in jail.