Clifford Kaja, the Gladstone man caught in a cybersting in September 2022, was sentenced to four months of immediate jail time, five years probation and various costs and fees. The sentencing was part of the 11th Circuit Court motion day on Tuesday, July 18 at the Alger County Courthouse.

“I want to take this time to apologize to the court and this community. What I did was wrong and I’m willing to take 100 percent accountability for this,” Kaja said.

While both the prosecution and defense asked for more or less time incarcerated, 11th Circuit Court Judge Brian Rahilly said that scoring was appropriate given the way the cybersting was set up.

“The actions do require further incarceration, so I will adopt the recommendation of four months,” Rahilly said. “What led you here today, I’m not a big fan of. From the onset of this case, it looks like entrapment. It legally might not be, but I believe you were manipulated by law enforcement.”

A second person caught in the cybersting, Matthew Clarence Cooley, had a pre-trial hearing earlier in the day. His attorneys at the Stupak Law Office in Escanaba stated that they were planning on filing a motion regarding entrapment concerns. Both cyberstings were operated by a task force that include Alger County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies in the Upper Peninsula.

Based on scoring from the pre-sentence report from the Michigan Department of Corrections, Kaja will serve four months in the Alger County Jail with seven months in advance, which means he could return to jail if he has a probation violation. He will receive credit for 34 days already served before the sentencing.

Kaja pled guilty to one count of accosting a child for immoral purposes and one count of using a computer to commit a crime. Count one is also considered a Tier 2 sex offender crime, the middle of three degrees of sexual offenses according to state law.