Former foster parent sentenced in Mich. sex case

10/18/2011

BELLAIRE, Mich. — A former northern Lower Peninsula foster parent who was convicted of sexually assaulting children in his care has been sentenced to at least 25 years in prison.

The Traverse City Record-Eagle reports 70-year-old Jere Clark, who was a foster parent for four decades, was sentenced Monday.

The Antrim County man maintains his innocence and declined to speak at the sentencing.

Prosecutors charged Clark in March after a teen said he sexually assaulted her over a five year span that began in 2004. Clark faced additional charges in May after a woman told sheriff's deputies he sexually assaulted her over a seven-year span that began in 1996.

He was convicted earlier this month of charges including first-degree criminal sexual conduct.