Ex-Michigan corrections officer gets 16 years in prison for sexually exploiting teen

A former Michigan Department of Corrections officer will find himself on the other side of bars after he was sentenced to 16 years in federal prison for sexually exploiting children and distributing child pornography, prosecutors said.

Aaron Ray Fetters, 29, was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in a case that alleged years-long sexual exploitation of a then-teenage girl. The U.S. Attorney's Office said in a release Thursday that Fetters recorded himself sexually assaulting the girl repeatedly during the course of several years.

Federal prosecutors said Fetters molested the girl from 2017 until 2019, when she was 15 to 16 years old. In 2022, a cyber tip revealed he had been downloading and distributing child pornography to other users. Investigators executed a search warrant at Fetters' home in 2023 in Jackson, according to the prosecutors' sentencing memorandum filed in federal court.

It stated investigators located hundreds of images of child pornography, including children as young as infants being sexually abused, on multiple devices that were retrieved, as well as images of himself abusing the teenage victim. The victim later disclosed Fetters' years-long sexual abuse, prosecutors said.

A grand jury indicted Fetters in June 2023. In December, he pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of children and distribution of child pornography in a plea agreement.

Fetters had no criminal history and "appeared to have lived a law-abiding life with a family and full-time employment as a MDOC officer. What is disturbing, however, is that he committed the instant offenses even while living that life, appearing in public to be an officer sworn to protect society from dangerous criminals even while he was abusing a minor," according to the prosecutors' sentencing memorandum, which recommended 27 years in prison.

Fetters' attorney, Joseph Brugnoli, recommended a 15-year sentence for his client, who he wrote is 30 years old, married with four children, and who survived an emotionally abusive upbringing, according to his sentencing memorandum.

"Mr. Fetters believed he was doing everything right in life; however, he didn't realize the addiction he had to porn and the control it had on his life," according to Brugnoli's memorandum.

He wrote that when confronted by law enforcement, Fetters confessed, took responsibility for his actions and turned over evidence of the crimes. He wrote that Fetters has shown remorse, is willing to participate in treatment and while incarcerated has been leading Bible studies and speaking with others who are willing to listen.

"His selfish behavior and desires led to the furthering of abuse of victimized children," Brugnoli wrote.

Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on X: @challreporter.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ex-MDOC officer gets 16 years in prison for sexually exploiting teen