La Plata, MD – Michael Thomas Jones, 25 of Waldorf, will face sentencing Oct. 30 after entering an Alford Plea on a third-degree sex offense after pleading out on a charge that he had inappropriate sexual contact with an 8-year-old girl Feb. 18.
Charles County Assistant State’s Attorney John Stackhouse told Charles County Circuit Court Judge Helen I. Harrington that as part of the plea agreement, Jones will also admit to violating probation in an older case for which he was charged with manufacturing marijuana.
The state’s recommendation is that he face eight years in the third-degree sex offense and two years on the violation of probation.
“They should run consecutive,” Stackhouse said.
While the court did defer sentencing for 60 days, Stackhouse added that the defendant must register as a sex offender with the state.
“That will be lifetime registration,” he noted.
Harrington read the charges that the defendant had sexual contact with the girl who was 8 years old.
“She was babysitting at a residence in Charles County that was not her own,” Stackhouse explained. “At some point, she went to the defendant’s bedroom where she was listening to music on a cell phone. According to the girl’s testimony, the defendant began to ‘hump her.’ She was lying on her stomach and the defendant put his hard penis between her legs and touched her vagina with his penis.
“The defendant then had her perform oral sex on him,” Stackhouse added.
Charles County Assistant Public Defender Gerry Riviello said the defendant would admit “to this act and other acts.”
Harrington said the defendant will be facing eight years on the third-degree sexual offense and while the guidelines call for five years of back up time on the probation violation, that under the terms of the plea agreement the court will only give him two years on that charge.
She scheduled sentencing for the end of October.
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com