A real estate agent in Lansing, Michigan, was sentenced to up to 20 years in prison on a charge of sexually abusive activity involving a child.
According to the Lansing State Journal, 64-year-old John DeMarco received a sentence of 30 to 240 months from Judge Matthew Stewart of Shiawassee County Circuit Court. DeMarco was arrested in a sting of potential child predators and pleaded guilty in August to a charge of persuading, enticing or knowingly allowing a child to engage in sexually abusive activity for the purpose of producing sexually abusive material. Other felony charges that included the use of computer communications to commit a crime, accosting a child for immoral purposes and weapons were dismissed.
DeMarco’s attorney, Chris Wickman, acknowledged that DeMarco spoke with an undercover agent posing as a child and then arranging to meet with that individual. However, he claimed the sentence was too extreme.
“We’re disappointed that Judge Stewart thought that Mr. DeMarco needed to go to prison, when that wasn’t requested by anyone,” Wickman said. “Mr. DeMarco has extensive service to his community, no prior criminal history and deeply regrets his actions. No children were involved.”
In addition to his work in real estate, DeMarco appeared as an actor in several independently produced films.
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It IS NOT TOO EXTREME! He thought it was a child and would more than likely do it again. We NEED ALL CHILD PREDATORS OFF THE STREETS!!
Exactly
SERIOUSLY??
“We’re disappointed that Judge Stewart thought that Mr. DeMarco needed to go to prison, when that wasn’t requested by anyone,” Wickman said. “Mr. DeMarco has extensive service to his community, no prior criminal history and deeply regrets his actions. No children were involved.”
Sick!
He’ll have no career to return to and rightfully so!
A sexual commented crime definitely violates the code of ethics in the real estate profession.
Whaaaat? He NEEDS to go to prison. He likely has no priors because he was not previously caught. Now he “deeply regrets” because he was caught. Its time to stop him before another child is hurt. Send him away for a long time.
He should ROT !!!!!
I do hope that scumbag DeMarco gets the treatment deserving to child predators while he is in prison.
No Children were involved. THIS TIME! How about all the times he didn’t get caught? Or the times in the future when a real child is involved? He belongs in prison until he dies. Natural causes or otherwise. What kind of sicko excuses this behavior???
He deserves what he got and more. Children are vulnerable and need our protection not perverts like him.
No sympathy for this guy, realtor or not. He got caught and will be paying the price in prison. Ive heard pedOs are not treated well in prison.
Town square hanging works!
Jail time for a crime that wasn’t committed? What kind of law is this? You can’t put people in jail because they might commit a crime or were baited by unlawful practices that actually encourage the act. BTW, when is the last time this has actually occurred? You see hundreds of almost committed crimes but never an actual crime of this nature. Put criminals in jail who commit crimes and stop creating crimes for police promotion.
Robert, I understand your concern, but it’s important to recognize that law enforcement has long used proactive measures to prevent serious crimes before they happen. The sting operations you mentioned—whether they involve drugs, sex trafficking, or murder-for-hire—are not about “creating” crimes but rather stopping dangerous individuals from acting on their intentions. These operations target people who are actively seeking to harm others. For instance, undercover agents don’t initiate criminal intent but instead provide an opportunity to catch those already seeking to engage in illegal activities.
In cases like John DeMarco’s, while no child was directly harmed, he still made the decision to pursue a criminal act. It’s similar to drug stings where a buyer agrees to purchase illegal drugs, or murder-for-hire schemes where a person hires someone to kill another. The law recognizes that the intent and steps taken toward committing a crime are punishable because they demonstrate a clear willingness to break the law and endanger others.
It’s about protecting potential victims by preventing harm before it happens.