SPARTA, MI - A 70-year-old Sparta man accused of sex with a 6-year-old decided to take his chances with a jury on a charge that could land him in prison for a minimum of 25 years rather than guarantee a minimum sentence of between nine and 15 years.

Lawrence Gibbons remains in the Kent County Jail on a $1 million bond after the 6-year-old girl reported the sexual contact to an investigator with the Kent County Children's Assessment Center in February.

The girl said Gibbons had sexual contact with her last summer at his home on Nash Street in Sparta, according to court records.

Related: Man, 70, accused of criminal sexual contact with 6-year-old



Gibbons, a grandfather, is charged with first- and second-degree criminal sexual conduct which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years to a maximum of life in prison and includes lifetime electronic monitoring.

If Gibbons had agreed to plead guilty to one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, the Kent County Prosecutor's Office would have agreed to drop the mandatory minimum sentence requirement. A plea deal would save the girl from having to testify in court.

Gibbons was before Kent County Circuit Court Judge George Buth on Monday, April 13, where he asked to have the case proceed to trial.

E-mail Barton Deiters: bdeiters@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/GRPBarton or Facebook at facebook.com/bartondeiters.5