COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – 38-year-old Thomas Slaybaugh, of Bronson, has pled guilty to aggravated possession of child sexually abusive material in Branch County Circuit Court .
The felony charge carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison, though Slaybaugh’s plea agreement establishes a 25-month minimum prison term and requires him to register as a sex offender.
In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dismissed four other felony charges, including additional child sexually abusive activity and computer-use offenses.
Slaybaugh was arrested in May following a Michigan State Police cybercrime investigation that traced BitTorrent downloads from December 2025 to his residence, where authorities seized external drives and devices containing tens of thousands of illicit images and videos.
Circuit Judge Zack Stempien accepted the plea after Slaybaugh, his defense counsel, and the prosecution formally waived any potential conflicts regarding the judge’s previous role as county prosecutor.
Stempien, who was appointed to the bench in April following the unexpected resignation of Judge Bill O’Grady, stated on the record that he had no prior involvement or independent recollection of the case, Stempien confirmed he did not review the file during his tenure as prosecutor, clearing the way for him to preside over the upcoming sentencing that is scheduled for November 2nd.
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