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CASSOPOLIS — A Cassopolis man involved in what Prosecutor Victor Fitz described as a sex trafficking case was sentenced to prison Friday in Cass County Circuit Court.

Johnathon Abram-Barrett, 25, of Cassopolis, pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a victim aged 13 to 15 and was sentenced to 10 years to 15 years in prison and $1,048 in fines and costs. He must register as a sex offender and have no contact with anyone under age 18.

      Three charges were dismissed in the case: first-degree criminal sexual conduct, delivery of methamphetamine and accosting children for immoral purposes. He was accused of providing the girl with meth. He could have faced a mandatory 25 year prison term if convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct.

He has credit for no time served as he is currently in prison on other charges. He was sentenced to prison in May on carrying a weapon with unlawful intent, assault with a dangerous weapon and use of a weapon in the commission of a felony. He also has past convictions for accosting children for immoral purposes and failing to register as a sex offender.

      The incidents occurred in 2023 and 2024 at locations in Berrien and Cass counties. The 13 year old girl who was the victim in this case was rescued in August, 2024 by the Southwest Michigan Drug Enforcement Team at a Benton Harbor area hotel. Two other men have also been sentenced in connection with the incidents.

      “It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen this case this horrific and disturbing,” Fitz said. “This is textbook sex trafficking. What he did to this girl was an abomination. She was treated as an object, not a human being. There was no way she should have been subjected to this. This was a nightmare for her and will be for the rest of her life. It’s simply awful.”

      Defense attorney Zachary Smith acknowledged that “the circumstances were bad here” but called it a matter of statutory rape and not sex trafficking. He noted that Abram-Barrett had been abused himself as a child. For his part, Abram-Barrett said he planned to appeal his sentence.

      Cass County Circuit Court Judge Mark Herman said he found it hard to believe Abram-Barrett’s assertion that he thought the victim was 18. He noted that the girl said her mother had told Abram-Barrett that her daughter was 13 when he had met them at a Dowagiac gas station.

      Judge Herman questioned how Abram-Barrett and others who claim they have been abused as children then turn around and abuse children themselves. “

People will say they were abused and how horrible it was,” he said. “If it was horrible for you and then you do it to others. It is not an excuse even if it may be a reason it’s happening. What you did to this young lady was unconscionable. You knew her mother was in jail and you took advantage of her, it shocks my conscience.”