More than two years after he was indicted, Justin A. Michel is headed to prison.
Michel was recently sentenced to 18 years in prison. In May of 2022, a Union County Grand Jury indicted Michel on one count of rape and five counts of gross sexual imposition. In March, just days before a trial was to begin, prosecutors amended the rape charge to gross sexual imposition and Michel pleaded guilty to all six counts. Because the rape allegation involved a child under the age of 10, Michel could have faced a sentence of life in prison if convicted.
At his recent sentencing hearing, Michel told the court he hadn’t committed a crime. Visiting Judge Daniel Hogan reminded Michel that he acknowledged that he understood the charges and the possible penalties and had admitted his guilt.
“You pled guilty six times. Is that still your position?” Hogan asked.
Michel said it was, but made no further comment.
Hogan sentenced Michel to 36 months in prison on every count, with each of the sentences to be served consecutively for a total of 18 years behind bars.
In addition to the prison sentence, Michel was classified as a Tier II sex offender, meaning that when he is released, he will be required to register as a sex offender every 180 days for 25 years.
In August 2021, the father of a teenage girl contacted law enforcement to report that Michel had sexually assaulted his daughter.
The girl reported she was between 8 and 12 years old when Michel rubbed her legs, pelvis and eventually private areas. She said he inserted his fingers inside her.
Union County Prosecutor Dave Phillips said that as police began to investigate, they found several other victims, all related to Michel.
He said while the girls were related to each other, they did not know Michel was involved with the others, “until they learned of it through the investigation.”
The three girls detailed several events of abuse to the police.
One girl told investigators that when she was about 9 years old, she had been sexually assaulted multiple times at Michel’s home and at a state park. She said Michel “grabbed” and rubbed her buttock and private areas.
Another girl said she was about 12 when Michel rubbed and touched her.
Michel acknowledged to investigators he might have touched one of the victims mistakenly thinking he was touching his wife.
Phillips said the incidents “occurred over a period of time and at various locations.”
Court documents indicate the allegations took place between September 2012 and May 2021.
While at least some of the children told family members, those family members did not contact law enforcement.
Court documents explain that the “dynamics of this case are impacted, and delayed disclosure promoted, by a family power structure that includes a grandmother’s reference to the family ‘empire.’”
The woman told and texted the victims that allegations could impact “the family ‘empire.’”
Phillips said it “not unusual” for a child victim of sexual abuse to wait until they are older to make a report. He said child victims of sexual assault “rarely disclose” for a variety of reasons including their age, fear, confusion, shame and guilt. He said initial disclosures are sometimes disbelieved, discouraging children from reporting again.
Phillips cited studies that show 60 to 80% of children do not disclose abuse until adulthood, with some survivors never disclosing to law enforcement.