Catholic school tutor could have faced months in jail rather than years in prison for sex with 15-year-old

By Barton Deiters
MLive
December 16, 2014

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2014/12/it_could_have_been_months_in_j.html

Abigail Simon reacts to the guilty verdict in her trial Wednesday, November 26, 2014. She is held by her attorney Michael Manley. Simon is guilty of having unforced sex with a 15-year-old boy whom she tutored while employed at Catholic Central High School in 2013.

Abigail Simon reacts to the guilty verdict in her trial Wednesday, November 26, 2014. Simon is guilty of having unforced sex with a 15-year-old boy whom she tutored while employed at Catholic Central High School in 2013.

Abigail Simon's family glares at the prosecutor after the guilty verdict Wednesday, November 26, 2014. She is held by her attorney Michael Manley. Simon is guilty of having unforced sex with a 15-year-old boy whom she tutored while employed at Catholic Central High School in 2013.

Abigail Simon's father reacts to the guilty verdict for his daughter Wednesday, November 26, 2014. She is held by her attorney Michael Manley. Simon is guilty of having unforced sex with a 15-year-old boy whom she tutored while employed at Catholic Central High School in 2013.

Abigail Simon's mother reacts to the guilty verdict for her daughter Wednesday, November 26, 2014. She is held by her attorney Michael Manley. Simon is guilty of having unforced sex with a 15-year-old boy whom she tutored while employed at Catholic Central High School in 2013.

The prosecution team of Helen Brinkman and detectives Amy Lowrie and David Gillem after the guilty verdict for Abigail Simon Wednesday, November 26, 2014. She is held by her attorney Michael Manley. Simon is guilty of having unforced sex with a 15-year-old boy whom she tutored while employed at Catholic Central High School in 2013.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The Catholic schools tutor facing a decade or more in state prison for criminal sexual conduct with a 15-year-old boy could have taken a plea deal that would have resulted in her spending less than a year in the county jail.

Abigail Simon, 35, awaits sentencing next month.

In April, Simon, then a 33-year-old tutor with the Grand Rapids Catholic high schools, was arrested in Flint for having sex with a 15-year-old Catholic Central High School student.

Between April 2013 and the beginning of a probable cause hearing for Simon in Grand Rapids District Court in August, the Kent County Prosecutor’s Office offered Simon an agreement that would end the case and save her and the student from the spectacle of a lengthy hearing.

Chief Assistant Kent County Prosecutor Christopher Becker was handling the case at the time and he offered Simon the chance to plead guilty to second-degree criminal sexual conduct, a charge without penetration as an element. It carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

In exchange for her plea, Simon would be offered a sentence cap of one year in the Kent County Jail. Because jail sentences include time off for good behavior, it is likely that Simon would have been out in considerably less than a year.

But Simon did not take advantage of the deal leading to the preliminary hearing where her attorney Michael Manley first introduced the defense in which the 15-year-old would be accused of physically and sexually abusing his client.

After the conclusion of the probable cause hearing in September when Simon was bound over to Kent County Circuit Court on multiple counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, which carry a maximum sentence of life in prison, the prosecutor again made an offer.

This offer called for Simon to plead guilty to accosting a child for immoral purposes and assault with intent to commit sexual penetration. Those charges would have carried a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Had she taken that plea, her sentencing guidelines would have called for a minimum sentence starting at only five months with a maximum minimum sentence of 23 months. Her lack of criminal record would have likely meant she would have spent less than a year in jail.

But Simon took the case to trial.

The three-week trial was expensive for both sides and exposed the most intimate and embarrassing details of their lives to the public.

Manley has received criticism both from the legal community and commenters online. He says he put his heart and soul into the defense, which he concedes at times became personal.

He says attorney-client privilege prevents him from discussing his advice to Simon about the plea deals.

“I make a recommendation, but it’s always the client who rejects or accepts the offer,” Manley said.

On the stand, Simon was vigorous, often combative with Assistant Kent County Prosecutor Helen Brinkman in maintaining her innocence. Simon was steadfast in her contention that she was the victim, not just of the teen but of a wrongful prosecution and a school community that valued its reputation and athletic program over the truth.

Her story was soundly rejected by a jury of 11 women and one man who found her guilty as charged.

Simon’s sentencing before Judge Paul Sullivan has been moved from Dec. 23 to Jan. 14 due to Christmas scheduling.

Simon will get her chance to speak in court on that day, as will her victim.