COLDWATER, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — The fourth and final co-defendant in a Coldwater child sex abuse conspiracy ring pleaded guilty in Branch County Circuit Court on Friday.
33-year-old Matthew Toole of Battle Creek pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping and conspiracy to commit first-degree criminal sexual conduct on a child under the age of 13.
In 2018 Michigan State Police began investigating Jayme LaPointe, Talia Furman and David Bailey for child pornography. All pleaded no contest to child porn charges in Calhoun County, but also faced conspiracy charges in Branch County in connection with a plot to lure a 12-year-old out of a county fair, take the child north, rape and then kill the child.
LaPointe pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 to 50 years for the Branch County case on Sept. 23, 2019.
Bailey and Furman pleaded guilty in June 2019 and were sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison for the Branch County case in August.
Toole was sentenced to 50 to 140 years after pleading no contest to charges of child porn in Calhoun County.
He is expected to be sentenced Friday, January 13, 2020 in Branch County Circuit Court.
