JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) -- A southern Indiana man who pleaded guilty earlier this year to molesting 20 young girls — some as young as 3 years old — was formally sentenced Friday.
A Clark County judge sentenced 19-year-old Michael Begin Jr. to 120 years in prison for child molestation — 100 to serve, and 20 suspended.
The sentence was issued in accordance with the terms of the blind plea deal Begin accepted in January.
Begin will be required to register as a sex offender. Under the terms of the agreement, he cannot appeal his conviction but does have the right to appeal the sentence. And Begin's attorney, Jennifer Culotta, said they do plan to file an appeal.
Begin was facing 27 charges, but prosecutors dropped seven charges as part of the agreement. The guilty plea avoided a trial where the victims could have been called to testify. The youngest victim was 3 years old, and the oldest was 8 years old.
Begin was 18 years old when he was accused of molesting two young girls at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School on Hamburg Pike in 2017. That's where investigators say Begin was working as a teacher's assistant as part of Jeffersonville High School's early childhood education program.
More than a dozen other victims came forward after the first allegations, claiming Begin molested them when he worked at the Clark County YMCA in Jeffersonville.
Before the judge issued the sentence, Begin read a brief apology statement before nine family members of the victims made statements about how Begin's actions have affected their lives.
One parent said her daughter recently woke up screaming "Michael stop! Leave me alone!" She said she asked her daughter what she wanted to say in court and was told "I hope he never gets out of jail, mommy."
.@WDRBNews these victim impact statements are very difficult to listen to. One parent says her daughter still wakes up screaming, “Michael, please leave me alone.” pic.twitter.com/1r7cvkrTEO
— Stephan Johnson (@SJohnsonWDRB) April 26, 2019
Another parent called Begin a "sick man" before asking the judge to give him the maximum sentence.
Clark County Prosecutor Jeremy Mull said this has been a tough case even though he is "hardened from doing this for so many years." He asked the court to sentence Begin to the maximum 120 years in prison, six years for each victim.
After being sentenced, Begin left the courtroom without saying a word.
"Justice was served," one family member said.
A few parents not only addressed Begin and the court during the sentencing, but they also shared their thoughts about the sentence.
"I'm happy with the results," the mother of one victim said.
"It was therapeutic," she said. "And it was very emotional to hear other parents that had to go through the same thing and to share our own story."
The mother said what happened to her daughter has been devastating, but she's pleased with the sentence.
"I'm very happy that we'll never have to worry about seeing him again, that our daughter will never have to worry about seeing him anywhere," she said.
"He is very sorry for all of his actions," said Jennifer Culotta, Begin's attorney.
Colotta said despite the guilty plea and an apology from Begin in court, she disagrees with the sentence.
"We disagree with several of the aggravators," she said. "We don't think that they were statutorily correct and are correct in the law. So there will be an appeal as to the sentence."
Mull said he is happy with the sentence and prepared for a possible round two.
"What we were after was a long sentence to make sure that he didn't get out and molest a girl again," he said. "And with 100 years, I think people are safe."
Several lawsuits have been filed against Begin, his parents, the YMCA and the Greater Clark County Schools in connection with the case.
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