LANSING ? Today, Jonathan Byrd, 40, of Battle Creek, was sentenced to 90 days? incarceration at the Kalamazoo County Jail and 12 months? probation by the Honorable Paul J. Bridenstine in the Kalamazoo County Circuit Court, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.?Byrd pled guilty to Aggravated Assault in December while facing one count of Fourth-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct. Other terms of Byrd?s sentence include a mandatory drug and alcohol assessment including any treatment ordered subsequently, sex offender counselling, prohibition from possessing firearms, and he may have no contact with the victim.?

The final 50?days of the?sentence of incarceration were ordered as suspended, pending Byrd?s successful completion of sex offender counselling during his first 40 days? incarceration, satisfactory completion of a drug and alcohol assessment and monitoring, that he commits no additional crimes, and that all associated court costs and fees are paid.?

Byrd forcibly moved a female victim's hand onto his penis at a social gathering in Kalamazoo County in April of 2022. Byrd held a position of much influence in the Capitol and around the state in the realm of government and politics that provided a significant power imbalance between him and the victim.???

?Today?s sentence is due to the bravery of the victim, who spoke out against an influential figure, and whose courage hopefully put an end to one man?s predation of young women in politics,? said Nessel. ??I am grateful to the prosecutors in my office, who will continue to seek justice for assault survivors, and bring accountability to offenders regardless of their positions of relative power.????

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