By Emma Phillips
SACRAMENTO – A deal was made here last week that will avoid a trial for a man accused of committing lewd acts with his granddaughter – but it hasn’t been decided if he’ll go to prison or get probation.
When asked to present the facts of the charges on defendant Michael Dobbs, Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Aarseth alleged he committed lewd and lascivious acts from the time of Oct. 11, 2014 to Oct. 10, 2019.
Defense Attorney Steve Plesser proposed a resolution in Sacramento County Superior Court Dept. 63 on last Thursday afternoon that would avoid a trial.
Dobbs is charged with three felonies and two misdemeanors, including committing a lewd and lascivious act on a child under the age of 14, possessing material portraying a child under the age of 18 who is personally engaging in or simulating sexual conduct, and annoying or 
molesting any child under the age of 18.
Prosecutor Aarseth described the specifics of these charges, stating that Dobbs grabbed his granddaughter’s bottom within the above 2014 to 2019 time period while the child was between seven and 11 years old. The defendant told his young granddaughter that she looked sexy and he wanted to see her naked.
Dobbs showed little emotion as this information was recounted, appearing virtually via Zoom.
Defense counsel Plesser then thoroughly detailed to Judge Patrick Marlette the resolution agreement with Aarseth. Dobbs was to enter a new and different plea of no contest to one count with which he was charged, in exchange for a recommendation of a low term lid of three years on his sentencing.
The judge agrees to this resolution, finding Dobbs guilty of his first count of lewd and lascivious acts on a minor under the age of 14, and orders him to report to the probation department.
While the low-term sentence of three years for these actions seems incredibly low, Judge Marlette has ruled this way in the past on similar charges, including the case of 21-year-old defendant Cobey Beemus, who was charged with molesting an eight-year-old child in November, 2019.
Vanguard reporter Mia Machado covered the case in her November, 2020 article “Broken Defendant Denied Probation in Child Molestation Case” – recording Judge Marlette’s final statements to the defendant, “I don’t expect your time in prison to be easy, and that’s the unfortunate side of the system.”
Marlette did not consider this defendant for probation in lieu of a prison sentence, which was telling for Dobbs’ sentencing.
Counsel inform the judge that the sentencing hearing for Dobbs will be contested, with the prosecution arguing for low-term prison sentencing, while the defense will argue for probation. The sentencing hearing is foreseen to take a significant amount of time, and is set for Feb. 5. Dobbs, out of custody now, is ordered to personally be in attendance.
Emma Phillips is a third year Communication major with a double minor in Political Science and Computer Science at UC Davis. She is originally from Santa Ana, CA.
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