(WWJ) — A Fraser man has been sentenced to up to 30 years in prison for drowning his girlfriend’s six-year-old special needs son, a sentencing the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office is appealing.
Hunter Locke-Hughes, 22, was convicted in February on charges of first-degree child abuse and involuntary manslaughter.
On Wednesday Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Kathryn Viviano sentenced him to 90 months to 30 years in prison on the child abuse charge, which the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office says was 45 months below the sentencing guidelines.
Viviano sentenced him to the low end of the guidelines at 43 months to 15 years for the involuntary manslaughter charge. The sentences will run concurrent.
The Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office is appealing the sentence, saying it was too light.
"When a sentencing fails to reflect the gravity of the offense, we must appeal it on behalf of the victim, victim’s family, and the community,” Prosecutor Pete Lucido said, per a press release.
Prosecutors say Locke-Hughes was bathing 6-year-old Terry Adams on Dec. 28, 2021 when he held the boy under water, according to previous reports.
Autopsy report findings released by the prosecutor's office indicated that the victim had multiple bruises on his scalp and bleeding and bruises under his scalp. Three of his teeth had also been knocked out, the report said.
The medical examiner listed drowning as Terry's cause of death, but classified it as "indeterminate" as the circumstances surrounding how Terry got into the bathtub were unclear at the time.