Man sentenced for 2024 criminal sexual conduct charge
Jeffrey Glasner receives 12-30 years
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HOUGHTON -- A 46-year old Jeffrey Lee Glaster was sentenced in Houghton Circuit Court Friday by Baraga County Judge Timothy Brennan to 12-30 years in prison for first degree criminal sexual conduct during a felony. The incident took place more than two years ago, in January 2024. The case had been mired in court with bond violations, motions and a pre-trial conference which resulted in a last-minute plea agreement reached minutes before jury selection was set to commence.
Glaster pleaded guilty to first degree CSC during a felony in August, under the stipulation his home invasion charge would be dismissed by the prosecution. Glaster's defense attorney, George Hyde, brought up several objections during sentencing, on the basis of his client being inaccurately scored in the pre-sentencing investigation report by probation officer Scot Dewar.
Hyde contested five scores on the guideline report. Four of which were denied by Judge Brennan and one was withdrawn by the defense after a brief recess where the judge listened to an audio recording. The offense variables (OV) included incidents which occurred while in jail.
According to Hyde, one incident involved Glaster producing and having confiscated "hooch" or prison wine. Hyde said his client had old juice confiscated, which fermented over time. He said he objected to Glaster scoring 25 points on the OV, indicating a threat to county jail security.
"Juices do ferment and that's exactly how hooch is made," Judge Brennan said. "The manufacturing and consumption of hooch, presumptively, threatens the security of the penal institution. A lot of a things aren't allowed in penal institutions, hooch is a contraband."
Another challenged OV in the guidelines was psychological distress of the victim. According to the report, Glaster scored a ten out of ten. Hyde said the victim did not appear to be traumatized or in any psychological distress or decline. Chief Assistant Prosecutor Hilary Baker disagreed.
"I would say an assertion that a victim must behave a certain way in order to be traumatized is wholly offensive and goes against common sense," Baker said.
Other OVs included a prior marijuana conviction in Texas and the size difference between Glaster and the victim. Both objections were overruled. The final one was the account of multiple penetrations, which as previously mentioned, was withdrawn by Hyde after Judge Brennan reviewed the audio privately.
Before pre-sentencing comments were heard. Hyde asked Judge Brennan to follow the plea agreement laid out after jury selection was no longer necessary. According to Baker, a motion was made by the prosecution to nullify the agreement, but still operate under the guilty plea, due to the defendant's misconduct. Where Baker said Glaster told the victim, "you know I don't deserve this" after the deal was signed as he was exiting the room.
Hyde said his client was under pressure while in the tight-quartered probate court room and he did not know his comments would nullify any agreement made. Judge Brennan agreed with Hyde and said he will follow the plea agreement and the sentencing guidelines.
The victim read an impact statement before sentencing. She said Glaster violated bond and attempted to contact her children. She also said Michigan State Police neglected protecting her and her children from him. "Jeff Glaster is a danger to society," she said. "He was able to silence others, not me."
The victim and Baker played audio of the incident. In it, the victim repeated "no," "get off me," "get out of my house," "stop" and "get away." She said she said some form of "no" 140 times. Accompanying her was a poster board with 140 red dots on it, aiming to be a visual aid of the crime.
Glaster responded in his pre-sentence comments. He said he was recently in recovery for heavy drug use and was trying to reconcile with the victim. Additionally, he stated many reasons for why his mental health was in decline, but it did not excuse his actions.
"I know that it doesn't excuse what I did," he said. "I would never intentionally hurt her or anybody else."
Judge Brennan handed down Glaster's prison sentence. He will serve 144-360 months in a Michigan Department of Corrections facility, with credit for 375 days served in county jail. Glaster will be on the Michigan Sex Offender Registry for life and have GPS tracking once he leaves prison.
If you or anyone you know has been the victim of sexual assault or domestic abuse, call the State of Michigan's VOICES4 hotline at 1-855-864-2374. You can also visit michigan.gov/voices4 for more information.