Reid Boucher
The case of a hockey player who could walk free after being accused of making a 12-year-old give him oral sex has sparked debate over the proper use of a state law that can scrub minors' criminal convictions.
Former NHL player and Grand Ledge native Reid Boucher, 28, was 17 at the time of the alleged incident, and is due to be sentenced Monday in Washtenaw County under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, or HYTA. That means he'll get to keep a clean record if he successfully completes the terms of his sentence, which will not involve jail.
In a subscribers-only article, the Free Press explores the arguments for and against applying HYTA, which an assault victim advocacy group says has in recent years been used in at least a half-dozen Michigan cases with victims under 13.
Those opposed to the lighter punishment — a cohort that includes even Larry Nassar's former attorney — argue Boucher shouldn't be eligible for it. HYTA cannot apply to cases of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, which is the typical charge for penetrating a minor under 12 and carries a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
But Boucher reached a plea deal in which he was charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct involving someone 13 to 16 years old. It's a "fictional plea" that is on its own against the law, some assault victim advocates and attorneys say.
Other criminal defense attorneys, however, say the deal is perfectly fine. It's not uncommon for people to be convicted of crimes that don't match the specifics of their case and, ultimately, one expert notes, HYTA is intended as "a recognition that children are different," owing to the fact that the brain doesn't full develop until age 26.
The Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office, for its part, has reportedly said it offered the plea to ensure at least some accountability, because evidence in the case was lacking.
In approving the deal, Judge Patrick Conlin cited the 11 years that have elapsed since the alleged crime and Boucher’s age then, the Free Press reports. Boucher's victim, now an adult, objected.
