Garrett Neese/Daily MIning Gazette
Trenton Kyllonen is seen with his attorney David Gemignani at his sentencing hearing in Houghton County Circuit Court Monday. Kyllonen was sentenced to a year in jail on multiple charges related to an online sting operation conducted last year.
HOUGHTON — A Lake Linden man arrested in July as part of a multiagency child sex sting operation involving undercover officers was sentenced to a year in jail in Houghton County Circuit Court Monday after the judge decided the original plea agreement was insufficient.
Trenton Kyllonen, 37, pleaded no contest in January to charges of accosting a child for immoral purposes, a four-year felony, and using a computer to commit a crime, a 10-year felony.
He was sentenced concurrently to 12-month sentences with credit for time served. He was also given five years’ probation.
Kyllonen was one of three people arrested after a series of online chats with undercover deputies posing as minors on apps meant to facilitate sexual encounters, according to police reports. They eventually negotiated meet-ups for sex, where they were arrested upon arrival.
The original plea agreement called for Kyllonen to be sentenced to time served — 209 days as of Monday.
Kyllonen’s attorney, David Gemignani, said he felt time served was an appropriate sentence. Over nearly seven months, the lack of freedoms and cramped conditions in jail would wear on people even in good mental health, he said.
“It’s not like he bonded out,” he said. “He did get out one day for his mom’s funeral. That was it. He went straight back to jail promptly.”
Reading the presentence report, Judge Brittany Bulleit had been disturbed by the description of the original offense.
“Probably most disturbing to the court was your statement that you did not think what you were doing was wrong,” she said. “It shows either a lack of remorse or a lack of understanding on a basic level as to what is criminal and what is not.”
She also stipulated that Kyllonen undergo more treatment than had been included in his original plan. He had outlined plans to seek additional counseling for substance abuse, which Bulleit appreciated. But that plan might not be focused enough on mental illness that could be the root cause of the substance abuse, or anything related to his charges, she said.
“You’re here for offenses that are getting you on the sex offender registry,” she said. “You’re not just here for substance abuse. And you don’t seem to be taking into account that those things need to be addressed as well in any kind of treatment that you’re doing.”
After conferring with Gemignani, Kyllonen decided to proceed with sentencing rather than change his plea.
Minimum sentencing guidelines for the accosting charge have a range of 12 to 24 months. Bulleit departed downward from the recommended range for the computer charge, which was 34 to 67 months. She cited the information provided to the court and the original plea agreement.
The others arrested in the July sting have already been sentenced.
Peter Hallesy, 39, of Kearsarge, was sentenced to 330 days in jail and a year probation in 97th District Court in November. Juan Marin, 48, of Hancock, was sentenced to 39 days in jail in November.
