OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. (Grand Haven Tribune) - A 47-year-old Jenison woman will spend at least 10 years in prison for having extended sexual relations with a 12-year-old boy.
Joy Marie Adrianson apologized when she was sentenced Monday in Ottawa County Circuit Court.
“What I did should never have happened,” she told the judge. “I struggled with depression and marriage issues that contributed to my judgment being clouded.”
Adrianson said she couldn’t tell the boy no, but that was no excuse for the pain she had caused the boy’s family.
“I am the adult and I should have known better,” she said.
A deal allowed Adrianson to plead guilty to two charges of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed a first-degree charge, which would have carried a mandatory 25-year minimum prison sentence.
Judge Karen Miedema sentenced Adrianson to 10-15 years in prison, with credit for 251 days served in jail. Although the opposing sides had agreed to an eight-year minimum sentence, Miedema said she was going above that because of the events, the number of times they happened and the details.
Adrianson must register as a sex offender when she is released from prison. She must also have no contact with the victim.
According to court statements, the boy was 12-13 during the approximately one-year relationship.
“She claimed the boy made advances toward her first,” Assistant County Prosecuting Attorney Jake Jenison said. “She made mistakes over and over again.”
Jenison said the incidents occurred about once a week during the school year and once a month during the summer. According to the investigation, Adrianson would take the boy into the laundry room or her bedroom and perform oral sex on him while they touched or rubbed against each other.
The relationship stopped when the boy finally said no, according to the victim’s father, who gave a lengthy statement.
The father noted that there were a lot of letters supporting Adrianson, and that the letters said she was a good person who made a mistake.
“It was all about her,” the father said. He emphasized that there didn’t seem to be any concern about how his son was doing.
Defense attorney Keeley Blanchard told the judge that the situation was a mutual attraction with consensual actions. Blanchard noted that her client had been determined not competent to stand trial because of mental health issues, but Adrianson has admitted her part in the situation all along.
Although she had years of diagnosed severe depression, Adrianson just recently received treatment and started medication, and understands the seriousness of the situation, Blanchard said.
The defense attorney pointed to 30 people in the courtroom who were there in support of Adrianson, including her husband.
But Miedema was not swayed.
“Your 30 friends in the courtroom were not in your house when this was going on,” the judge said.
Miedema noted the victim’s young age, that this was a series of events, and that Jenison conducted the actions in secret and manipulated the boy.
“You are still blaming the victim at this point, saying you couldn’t say no to his advances,” the judge said.
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