CSC suspect sentenced to prison

MARQUETTE — A Little Lake man who pleaded guilty to criminal sexual conduct two days into his trial was sentenced this morning in Marquette County Circuit Court.

Sixty–one year old Joel Anderson was sentenced to four to ten years in prison on four counts of criminal sexual conduct. The sentence was given in accordance with a plea agreement that Prosecuting Attorney Matt Wiese calls a fair disposition, even if the victim’s family didn’t agree with it.

“I literally had an 11–year old girl outside this courtroom ready to come in here and testify. And I had another little girl in my office who, for lack of a better clinical diagnosis, was having a nervous breakdown under the specter of having to come into the courtroom to testify in front of everybody.”

When asked if he had anything to say, Anderson said, “There’s a lot I’d like to say but it wouldn’t make a difference.”