Circuit Court Judge Daniel Damman said he had never met a defendant quite like Aaron Schoenrock.
The judge told Schoenrock, 42, as much Monday morning, just before sentencing him to a minimum 60 years in prison for rape, torture, attempted murder and several other felonies.
"There is nothing I have seen that shows the worst side of humanity as Mr. Schoenrock does," Damman said.
Damman sentenced Schoenrock to 60 to 90 years in prison for torture, first-degree criminal sexual conduct and assault with intent to murder, all to be served concurrently. Schoenrock was also sentenced to 25 to 90 years for first-degree home invasion, 19 to 90 years for unlawful imprisonment, six to 90 years for possession of a firearm and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, and two years in prison for each of three counts of felony firearm use. That final sentence must be served consecutively, making his overall sentence 62 to 92 years in prison.
Schoenrock's sentencing brought an end to a year-long case that saw multiple delays as Schoenrock tried to influence a key witness, Jolynn Hirsch, into refusing to testify. It all amounted to nothing but new charges, as Hirsch did testify and Schoenrock was found guilty by a jury after a trial in May.
The victim of Schoenrock's torture gave an impact statement to the court, saying she was still recovering from the torture at Schoenrock's hands.
"I would love to say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, but that's not true," the victim said.
The victim said she had come to see Schoenrock as a representation of "everything wrong in my life." She described how he made her feel like a piece of property, and that he made sure she couldn't see the world past him.
Describing Schoenrock as a "real, foul, depraved, loathsome creature," the victim said she had come to realize it was actually him who needed her, someone to control.
"Everything you did to bring me so low, to your level, you had no goddamn right to do that," the victim said.
St. Clair County Senior Assistant Prosecutor Joshua Sparling listed all the ways Schoenrock had tormented the victim: he had raped her, beat her, threatened her son, threatened her with a chainsaw, forced her to write a suicide note at gunpoint, and to ingest psychedelic mushrooms at gunpoint.
Sparling also reminded the court of the injury Schoenrock inflicted on the other victim, whom Schoenrock stabbed after attempting to find another man in his home, nearly killing him.
Sparling also cited Schoenrock's criminal history, which includes eight felony convictions and 14 misdemeanors, to argue the court was beyond the point of considering rehabilitation and should give Schoenrock as long a sentence as possible.
"There is no place for Aaron Schoenrock in our society," Sparling said.
Defense Attorney Meggan Delisi had argued for the mandatory minimum sentence of 27 years in prison, saying that Schoenrock had not killed anybody and that she considered a 60-year minimum, effectively a life sentence, to be cruel and unusual punishment.
Damman agreed with Sparling in his ruling that the court was beyond the point of considering rehabilitation.
"None of the attempts by our judicial system seem to have modified or curbed Mr. Schoenrock's behavior," Damman said.
Damman referred to Schoenrock's efforts to bribe Hirsch, saying he had shown no remorse and had instead tried every tactic available to delay the trial
The judge also told the victim he disagreed with her impact statement that her experience hadn't made her stronger.
"I can't imagine how deep you had to dig to not only make the response, but to testify multiple times," Damman said. He later added, "I am sorry beyond words that this happened to you, but I hope that you can rebuild your life."
Schoenrock was given credit for 408 days already spent in jail.
Contact Johnathan Hogan at jhogan@gannett.com .
This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Schoenrock sentenced to prison for torture, rape and attempted murder
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