Local man arrested for criminal sexual conduct with minor

Home City News Local man arrested for criminal sexual conduct with minor

The Hillsdale Circuit Court postponed the pretrial for resident Jerome Lee Mattson from Nov. 26 to Jan. 7 to allow time for further investigation. Mattson is accused of having criminal sexual conduct with his live-in girlfriend’s 9-year-old daughter last December.

According to her testimony at the preliminary exam, the girl was taking a nap in her mother’s bedroom when Mattson committed the crime. The girl said her mother was at work when this occurred.

Mattson, whom the girl calls Jeremy, often babysat her. He also babysat the girl’s sister and half-sister, who are both 4 years old. On the day of the first incident, she said Mattson turned on cartoons for the two girls to watch before entering the bedroom where she slept.

She was abused on more than six and less than 10 separate occasions. The girl told her 10-year-old friend about the incident before she told her mother or anyone else.

According to prosecuting attorney Neal Brady, the pre-trial was adjourned to allow Mattson time to take a state police polygraph. Brady said it was unusual for courts to reveal polygraph results because they are not always accurate.

“For instance, some people pass polygraph tests but are still guilty,” Brady said.

He explained that polygraph tests help prosecutors in the pretrial stage to evaluate cases where there is a lone witness. The girl is the sole witness in this case and Brady worries that the defense attorney could attack her, make her look like a liar, and take away her credibility.

Brady hopes the defendant will plead guilty, but Mattson currently is fighting the charge.

    —Written by Elizabeth Hamilton