Tyler Horning/Collegian
Maddox in court.
A 22-year-old Hillsdale man pled guilty Monday in Hillsdale County Circuit Court to criminal sexual conduct of the fourth degree against a 13-year-old girl on Jan. 3.
This was the final of a series of similar incidents. Daniel James Maddox was already on probation for assaulting Hillsdale College students Mary Leet and Emma Tocci last year. In addition to his one-year probation sentence, Maddox was also ordered to attend sex offender counseling. Had no further incidents arisen, his offense would have been entered as assault and battery, rather than registering him as a sex offender.
“I actually favored probation and counseling, as opposed to just charging him with CSC and having him register as a sex offender, because it sounded more constructive, more likely to effect a change in his behavior than straight punishment would,” Leet said.
Maddox will be sentenced in five weeks. His bail is set at $1,000.
According to Hillsdale County Prosecutor Neal Brady, Maddox can be sentenced to up to 16 months of jail time; however, it is likely to be zero to nine months.