Rudyard man charged with attempting to travel to Canada to have sex with minors

RUDYARD — A Rudyard man was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for attempting travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct with minors.

In addition to his prison term, 64-year-old Michael Keith Feighner will serve eight years of supervised release upon the completion of his sentence. He will also be required to register as a sexual offender.

On June 28th, Feighner pled guilty to a charge of attempting to travel to a foreign country for the purpose of having sexual relations with a minor. This investigation began when an undercover Homeland Security Investigations agent, operating from a list of customers who were frequenting child pornography websites and trading child pornography, contacted Feighner.

Believing that he was communicating with the father of three underage children, Feighner arranged for a meeting in Sault Ste. Marie, Canada for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts with the children. On the agreed date, Feighner traveled from Rudyard and was intercepted and arrested at the International Bridge in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

Feighner is a retired state corrections officer who was employed at the MDOC prison in Kincheloe, Michigan. He later worked as a school bus driver for the Rudyard Area Schools from 2013 through 2017.