Babysitter gets decades for sexual abuse
ALLEGAN, Mich. (WOOD) — A Wyoming man who sexually abused a child he was hired to babysit will spend decades in prison.
On Tuesday, Gary Carlson was sentenced to 37.5 to 60 years in prison by Judge Matthew Antkoviak of the 48th Circuit Court, according to the Allegan County Prosecutor’s Office. He must also register as a sex offender and be subject to lifetime electronic monitoring, the office says.
Babysitter pleads in sexual abuse case
Carlson in June pleaded no contest to 26 felony charges, including first-degree criminal sexual conduct and child pornography charges.
When Carlson was arrested in June 2023, the Allegan County Sheriff’s Office said he had been hired through an online child care provider to watch two children, ages 2 and 14. Court documents show the sheriff’s office started investigating when the girls’ mother reported Carlson was texting explicit messages and pictures to the 14-year-old. When interviewed later, the document said, Carlson admitted he sent the explicit messages “and admitted it was ‘grooming’ behavior.” Investigators say when they searched Carlson’s phone, they found several videos that showed the 2-year-old being sexually abused.
Babysitter from Wyoming charged with sexual abuse of child
In a statement, Allegan County Prosecutor Myrene Koch called Carlson’s actions “heinous.”
“An upward departure in the sentencing guidelines was justified due to the heinous nature of the defendant’s actions against young and vulnerable children, the sheer volume of acts committed including first degree criminal sexual conduct and aggravated child sexually abusive material, as well as his predatory conduct in specifically seeking employment as a caregiver to children,” she said. “The victims and their family have a long road of healing ahead that hopefully can begin now that the criminal case has been completed.”
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