Second-time offender gets 25 years
A Marquette man has been sentenced after being found guilty of first degree sexual assault and first degree false imprisonment by a Hamilton County jury in November. At a hearing held Thursday morning, District Judge Rachel A. Daugherty sentenced 26-year-old Anthoney E. Swartz to 25 years in prison for a crime that occurred July 5, 2021 in Marquette.
Represented by his attorneys, Robert Alexander and Dana DeSimone, Swartz appeared at the sentencing in his orange Hamilton County Jail jumpsuit.
In an enhancement hearing held prior to the sentencing, County Attorney Douglas Dexter asked that Prosecution Exhibit 2 be reentered for the purposes of enhancement. The motion was granted by the judge.
“The evidence is plain,” Dexter said, noting that this was a second offense of sexual assault for Swartz. He went on to state that the court had received the pre-sentencing report which contained a letter from the probation office and letters from various individuals.
In his remarks Dexter said what has been taken from the victim of the crime “cannot be given back” and argued for a sentence of 30-50 years, saying that would allow for Swartz to be eligible for parole after 25-30 years.
Simone countered that argument by saying she believed the state minimum penalty of 25 years was “a significantly long amount of time.”
In pronouncing the sentence, Daugherty said she had considered all of the factors pertaining to the case, noting the fact that Swartz was on probation for an earlier conviction of sexual assault when the latest crime was committed, said there was a “high risk of reoffense.” Speaking of the trauma to the victim, Daugherty said “she will suffer repercussions from your actions for the rest of her life.”
The judge also said Swartz appeared to have a lack of insight into the long-lasting harm he had caused.
Daugherty sentenced Swartz to 25-30 years in prison for the first count and three years for the second count—false imprisonment in the first degree. The sentences are to be served concurrently. As part of his sentence, Swartz will also have to be on the state’s sexual offender registry for not less than 25 years following his release from prison.