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Posted on Wed, Jan 11, 2012 : 4:05 p.m.

Ann Arbor man sentenced to 6 months in jail for possessing child porn

By Kyle Feldscher

An Ann Arbor man will serve six months in jail and three years on probation after pleading guilty child pornography charges, a Washtenaw County judge ruled Tuesday.

surrichayes.jpg

Surric Hayes

Courtesy of Facebook

Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge Donald Shelton sentenced Surric Hayes, who was 28 when he was charged, to the Washtenaw County Jail Tuesday afternoon. Hayes pleaded guilty late last year to the four counts of possessing child pornography.

Ann Arbor police said a man found the child porn on Hayes’ computer and contacted the Saline Police Department. After discovering that the crime had been committed in Ann Arbor, Saline police turned the computer over to Ann Arbor police, who found a number of pornographic images of children on it, according to police.

According to the terms of probation laid out by Shelton, Hayes is prohibited from owning or using a computer that is able to access the Internet without the consent of his probation officer, cannot live near anyone under the age of 17, may not have contact with anyone under 17 and must seek sexual offender treatment.

Hayes must also pay $1,820 in court and attorney costs as a part of his probation at $200 per month, Shelton ruled.

Hayes declined to make any comment to Shelton during his sentencing hearing.

Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.

Comments

RJA

Thu, Jan 12, 2012 : 2:11 a.m.

Six months doesn't seem long enough to me, and I hope he will follow the terms of his probation. This offender got off easy in my book!

The Black Stallion3

Thu, Jan 12, 2012 : 1:13 a.m.

I am glad to see he will be behind bars, our children will be safer.

Roadman

Thu, Jan 12, 2012 : 12:07 a.m.

The federal judiciary has criticized the sentencing of child pornography cases per guidelines: See: <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13887009" rel='nofollow'>www.denverpost.com/ci_13887009</a>

DBH

Thu, Jan 12, 2012 : 1:19 a.m.

I think the flaw in the argument for lighter sentences because (from what I gather from the article) the offenders are highly unlikely to actually act out their pedophilic tendencies and, therefore, the crime is essentially harmless is that just participating in any aspect of child pornography creates a market which, in turn, creates victims. It is not just the perpetrators of the creation of the pornography who are victimizing the children; anyone anywhere along the supply chain is victimizing the children. The children must be protected at all reasonable costs. Severe sentences still seem appropriate to me.

Roadman

Wed, Jan 11, 2012 : 11:44 p.m.

Seems to be a big disparity between the federal and state court cases. I have regularly seen federal judges give sentences of up to 30 years for child pornography convictions.

Dennis

Thu, Jan 12, 2012 : 2:59 a.m.

Thats usually for creating and/or disseminating child pornography.

GirlNextDoor

Wed, Jan 11, 2012 : 10:39 p.m.

Does anyone know why the probation limits are for children &quot;under the age 17?&quot; (Accurate or typo?) Why not age limits of anyone under the age of 18?

GirlNextDoor

Thu, Jan 12, 2012 : 3:59 a.m.

Thanks for the info, Nephilim.

Nephilim

Thu, Jan 12, 2012 : 3:34 a.m.

Actually Kyle you are incorrect, age of consent in Michigan is 16. Sorry. <a href="http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(mtxgz445b3stff45p2ybb4f5))/mileg.aspx?page=GetObject&objectname=mcl-750-520e" rel='nofollow'>http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(mtxgz445b3stff45p2ybb4f5))/mileg.aspx?page=GetObject&amp;objectname=mcl-750-520e</a>

GirlNextDoor

Wed, Jan 11, 2012 : 11:18 p.m.

Thanks, Kyle.

Kyle Feldscher

Wed, Jan 11, 2012 : 10:41 p.m.

That age is accurate. The legal age of consent in Michigan is 17, so that's why the probation limits were set for that age.

Major

Wed, Jan 11, 2012 : 10:10 p.m.

I'm wondering how they will be able to enforce the no Internet/computer restriction.

Atticus F.

Wed, Jan 11, 2012 : 10:06 p.m.

It looks like he's wearing a Jimmy John's shirt.

bluecollar

Wed, Jan 11, 2012 : 10:06 p.m.

Seems like to light of a sentence. What a sick individual.