Ex-scout leader gets prison time
He had pleaded guilty to molesting boy, 14
June 15, 1999
BY ALEX ROTH
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
One victim's family called him "despicable." His brother called him a good man who made a terrible mistake.
It's a mistake former Boy Scout leader John Gray will have a long time to think about in prison. A Macomb County judge on Monday sentenced him to eight to 30 years on charges of molesting a teenage member of his troop.
The 42-year-old former Clinton Township accountant told Macomb County Circuit Judge John Bruff he was "very, very sorry."
The sentence comes a month after Gray pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct on what was to be the first day of his trial.
Authorities say he molested at least three boys in his troop, which had scouts from Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. A Wayne County judge had already sentenced him to five to 15 years in prison.
Gray pleaded guilty in Macomb County to molesting one member of his troop when the boy was 14.
In court Monday, the teen's father called Gray "'a disgusting, despicable excuse for a human being." And the teen's mother said her son's grades dropped and he fell into a deep depression.
Before the hearing, Gray's brother said he didn't think Gray committed the acts but decided to plead guilty for personal reasons.
"If you're faced with 20 years to life against eight years, you might take the plea," said Paul Gray, 58, of St. Clair Shores.
Gray still faces misdemeanor solicitation charges in Ogemaw County in connection with another former member of his troop.
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