Michigan – James Carter, a 63-year-old man formerly of Prescott and most recently living in Georgia, will spend decades in prison after being sentenced in Hillsdale County for crimes connected to the s**ual assault of a minor in 2008.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that Carter was sentenced this week by Judge Sara Lisznyai of the 1st Circuit Court in Hillsdale County to 35 to 45 years of incarceration. The sentence follows a February 4 jury conviction on four counts of First-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct and one count of Accosting a Child for Immoral Purposes.
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The case stretches back more than 15 years. Carter was first charged by the Hillsdale County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in August 2011, but the matter did not reach its conclusion until years later, after authorities brought him back to Michigan to face the outstanding charges.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, Carter was arraigned and extradited to Hillsdale County in March 2025 by the U.S. Marshals Service. His return was handled through Operation Survivor Justice, a coordinated effort involving the Michigan Department of Attorney General, local county prosecutors, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
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The operation is focused on finding, arresting, and returning fugitive offenders who are wanted in Michigan on outstanding s**ual assault warrants.
After the jury convicted Carter earlier this year, Nessel pointed to the lasting harm caused by s**ual assault and the difficulty survivors may face when seeking justice long after a crime occurs.
“S**ual assault survivors carry the impact of these crimes for their entire lives, and seeking justice nearly two decades later takes extraordinary courage,” said Attorney General Nessel at the time of the conviction.
“I am proud of the work my office and our Operation Survivor Justice partners have done to secure this conviction, and we will continue working alongside them to hold offenders accountable.”
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The sentence marks the final step in a case that began with allegations from 2008, moved through charges filed in 2011, and was revived through a multi-agency fugitive effort more than a decade later. For state officials, the outcome also reflects the purpose of Operation Survivor Justice: bringing long-pending s**ual assault cases back before Michigan courts, even when years have passed.