The Michigan State Police say Wednesday that they began their investigation after detectives were notified of a large amount of child porn being downloaded.
23-year-old Meghan Schug had entered the guilty plea earlier this year to first-degree child abuse, and was sentenced to between 25 and 50 years in prison. She wanted to withdraw that plea on Monday.
Jason Bushong had pleaded no contest to first-degree criminal sexual conduct in October for grooming a 15-year-old student and engaging in a lengthy relationship with her, having sex with her multiple times. He also allegedly attempted to approach other young girls.
Stevens, along with Ward and his girlfriend Sandee Confer were all found unconscious due to carbon monoxide poisoning at a commercial property in Springfield where they were living.
33-year-old Jason Bushong of the Battle Creek area pleaded no contest to first-degree criminal sexual conduct, with a charge of third degree CSC being dropped in the plea deal.
Four Calhoun and Branch County residents have been charged with multiple felonies for their alleged plan to abduct a child and sexually torture them to death.
After a search of a Branch County home and of computers owned by 50-year-old Dale Otis Jr, as well as an interview with him, investigators say that he sexually assaulted a child and made images of it.
36-year-old Isaac Miller, was sentenced to between 3 years 7 months and 10 years in prison Monday; police say he and his girlfriend severely abused her son.
The boys had initially come to police attention after they said they accidentally set a garage on fire while smoking marijuana. However, police say the investigation has turned up a more sinister story.
At sentencing in Grand Rapids federal court, the judge called the crime scene a “child pornography house of horrors”, and said that this case was “if not the worst, then one of the two or three worst cases” he had ever seen.