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MENOMINEE -- An Iron Mountain man has been sentenced to prison after being convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a person under 13 years old.
Blaine William Smeester, 28, was sentenced to eight to 15 years in prison Sept. 4 in the Menominee County 41st Circuit Court by Judge Christopher S. Ninomiya. Smeester will serve his sentence in the Marquette Branch Prison.
According to court documents and information presented in court, the 12-year-old victim reported to the Menominee County Sheriff's Office numerous incidents of sexual assaults by Smeester at her home in northern Menominee County.
The investigation contends Smeester had engaged in a sustained period of grooming the child. In a post-Miranda interview after his arrest, Smeester confessed to the police he had committed numerous acts of penetration.
Menominee County Prosecuting Attorney Jeffrey T. Rogg announced the sentence Wednesday, saying "Mr. Smeester preyed on a vulnerable child, 16 years younger than himself, for his own selfish sexual gratification. Mr. Smeester's behavior is deeply disturbing, and the serious sanction of a prison sentence is entirely appropriate as a consequence."
According to Rogg, the victim did not want to testify, which the prosector said was taken into consideration when negotiating a plea agreement.
"I always try to strike the delicate balance of obtaining a just punishment while protecting victims from the requirements of the court system itself," Rogg said. "Sexual violence crimes are among the most difficult cases to prosecute. Judge Ninomiya's sentence sends a harsh message to people like Mr. Smeester that I will work tirelessly to seek justice for survivors, and that they cannot victimize anyone in vulnerable circumstances."
Rogg thanked the Menominee County Sheriff's Office for the agency's continued assistance in "bringing predators like this to justice."
According to the Michigan Department of Corrections, Smeester has previously been convicted in Dickinson County of accosting children for immoral purposes -- for which he was sentenced to a minimum of two years and maximum of four years -- and third-degree criminal sexual conduct with force or coercion, with a minimum sentence of 10 years and maximum of 15 years.
Smeester was sentenced for both crimes on Sept. 3, just one day before he was sentenced for the assaults on the 12-year-old.
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Sophie Vogelmann can be reached at 906-786-2021, ext. 148, or svogelmann@dailypress.net.