Holland man sentenced to 27 years in prison for child sexual exploitation
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HOLLAND — A local resident could spend nearly three decades in prison for sexually exploiting a child.
According to U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten, 32-year-old Justin Lee Sloothaak was sentenced to 27 years and six months in federal prison after pleading guilty.
Investigators from the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI found evidence that Sloothaak sexually assaulted a child from West Michigan in 2022. He filmed the assault on his phone, which wasn't the only video in his possession featuring children. At the time of the offense, Sloothaak was on parole for the 2015 assault of another child.
“This is, absent murder, probably the most traumatizing thing you can do to a human being, especially a minor,” said United States District Judge Jane Beckering.
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“The sexual exploitation of children is inexcusable and intolerable,” Totten said. “Sexual predators who commit heinous crimes against children inflict lifelong damage in the lives of their young victims. My office is committed to working with law enforcement partners to ensure that sex offenders who assault our children are held fully accountable.”
— Contact reporter Tess Ware at tware@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @tess_journalist.
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Holland man sentenced to 27 years in prison for child sexual exploitation
