A former Hillsdale County man convicted of sexually abusing a minor has been sentenced, officials said.
A Hillsdale County Circuit Court judge on Friday gave Kevin Murphy three to 15 years in prison for second-degree criminal sexual conduct, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said.
Upon his release, the 59-year-old is subject to lifetime electronic monitoring and lifetime sex offender registration, she said.
Murphy pleaded no contest to the charge in May, according to Nessel. Michigan courts treat no-contest pleas the same as guilty pleas.
In exchange for his plea, a second count of the crime was dismissed at sentencing, the attorney general said. However, she said that his plea and the sentencing agreement establish that crime victim rights for both assaults are attached to his conviction, ensuring both survivors maintain their victim rights before the court.
The defendant faces up to 15 years in prison for each count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Murphy’s attorney, Kimberley Burger-Gibbons, was not immediately available for comment on Tuesday.
How the case unfolded
Authorities alleged the Kentucky resident sexually abused two minors, aged 9 and 12 at the time, in 2025. The Hillsdale County Prosecutor’s Office initially charged Murphy in October.
But he fled from Michigan and wasn’t extradited from Kentucky until March 2026, officials said.
Murphy was returned to the state under Operation Survivor Justice, a partnership between Nessel’s office and the U.S. Marshals Service to find and arrest Michigan fugitive offenders with outstanding sexual assault warrants. It was launched in 2024, and Michigan contributed $1 million in funding.
“It takes tremendous courage for survivors of sexual assault to come forward, especially at such a young age,” Nessel said in a statement when Murphy entered his plea. “I am incredibly grateful to the victims for their bravery and for the hard work of the prosecutors and U.S. Marshals involved in Operation Survivor Justice. Their efforts helped take a predator off our streets, and I hope this conviction brings the survivors a sense of justice and peace.”
Murphy is among the latest defendants who were returned to Michigan to face charges under Operation Survivor Justice.
In May, a former Cadillac man was sentenced for sexually assaulting a teen girl nearly a decade ago in Wexford County.
The month before that, a Dallas man was ordered to stand trial in Oceana County Circuit Court for the alleged sexual abuse of a child in the 2000s.
A Georgia man convicted of sexually assaulting a child in 2008 was also sentenced in April to 35-45 years in prison by a Hillsdale County Circuit Court judge.
cramirez@detroitnews.com
@CharlesERamirez
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Man convicted in Hillsdale Co. child sex assault sentenced
Reporting by Charles E. Ramirez, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Charles E. Ramirez, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
