Former Walt Disney Company executive Michael Laney has been sentenced to 81 months in prison for four counts of first-degree sexual abuse involving a 7-year-old girl.
According to WTKR, Laney, who is 73-years-old, “will have to register as a sex offender and pay a $4,000 fine.”
In 2017, the young girl told Washington state law enforcement that Laney abused her in 2009. The case was later given to the Portland Police Bureau, as the abuse was determined to have occured in that city. During its investigation, the PPB discovered other allegations of sexual abuse against Laney, with one person alleging he sexually abused her when she was a minor in 2007. The court was not able to prove those allegations against Laney.
The Oregonian reports Laney had previously been acquitted on “three counts of first-degree rape and three counts of first-degree sex abuse.”
That outlet also notes Laney’s lawyers, Stephen and Jacob Houze, are attempting to postpone his incarceration while he attempts to appeal “part of the sentence.” Jacob wrote of the claims against Laney, “The character of the evidence is just stories, and the strength of those stories is exceedingly low.”
The attorneys also noted Laney’s wife suffers from Parkinson’s disease, writing, “Sentencing Mr. Laney to any amount of incarceration, much less an actuarial true life sentence, disproportionately impacts him more than a defendant without those personal characteristics.” The doctor for Laney’s wife corroborated provided a statement saying the loss of her primary caregiver would result in “serious consequences to her health and well-being.”
Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Charles Mickley responded to those claims, calling them “peculiarly offensive and insulting.” He continued, “Defendant wholly ignores the compelling evidence of his guilt presented at trial, including the evidence of his longstanding sexual interest in children.”
Story cited here.
