An Independence Township man was sentenced to 5 ? 30 years in jail on charges he sexually assaulted a nine-year-old girl.
Mark Owen Erickson, 44, was sentenced on May 17 before Judge Edward Sosnick in Sixth Circuit Court in Oakland County on first and second degree criminal sexual conduct charges.
Erickson was found guilty on May 1 on charges stemming from an investigation launched by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department Independence Township substation in December 2005.
The investigation started after the victim disclosed to a friend that Erickson, who was engaged to her mother at the time, had sexually assaulted her the night before while her mother was away. Erickson was living on Parview Drive at the time of the assault.
According to records from the Oakland County Clerks Office, Erickson was found not guilty on four other first degree CSC charges involving the girl and a charge of disseminating obscene material to children.
As reported in the Jan. 4 edition of The Clarkston News, the charges came from several incidents dating back to Jan. 1, 2005 with the latest occurring Dec. 14.
Erickson was arraigned on Dec. 23, 2005 in 52-2 District Court after sheriff’s deputies arrested him on Dec. 22. Bond was set at $2.5 million. The case was bound over to circuit court on Jan. 25.