MANCHESTER, MI - A Grass Lake man will serve three years of probation after being accused in a child’s rape.

Steven Hahne, 51, was sentenced Thursday, April 25 after pleading no contest to two counts of third-degree child abuse in March.

The decision was met with anger by a fellow defendant in the courtroom, the so-called “Detroit freezer mom” Mitchelle Blair, who yelled “Pedophile a-- b---h,” at Hahne as she was removed from the room.

Blair killed her own children and hid their bodies in a freezer. She was back in court for assaults on guards in prison.

Hahne was originally charged in June 2018 with first-degree criminal sexual conduct of a child under 13 years old for an incident in 2014 or 2015 in the Manchester area, court records show.

A plea agreement was difficult to reach, but was eventually executed so the victim wouldn’t have to testify at trial, Assistant Washtenaw County Prosecutor Amy Reiser said at the time.

Chief Assistant Washtenaw County Prosecutor Steve Hiller echoed the concerns for the child in a later phone interview.

"There's a lot of things that go into these decisions and sometimes the right thing to do is to make an agreement that you might not make in every case," he said.

The rape allegations came to light in early 2018 after the child, now a teen, attempted to commit suicide, her mother said during the Thursday hearing.

"You have taken her joy," she said.

The child was emotional when she testified at an August 2018 preliminary examination to the rape and to allegations Hahne burned her in a previous incident of abuse, according to transcripts.

Michael Vincent, Hahne’s Ypsilanti-based attorney, questioned the girl’s credibility, due to mental health concerns, and raised questions about the girl’s issues with Hahne as a disciplinarian.

The Ann Arbor News does not publish the names of victims of sexual assault, except in rare cases.

Hahne declined to speak at his sentencing. Vincent on Tuesday, April 30 said the plea deal was a hard-fought, fair resolution to a volatile case. He and his client would’ve fought the original charge “'til the very end,” he said.

“I just think it would be a very difficult trial for everybody and for the prosecutors,” he said, later adding: “I’m glad my client does not have to go through a trial and I’m glad this young lady doesn’t have to go through a trial.”

First-degree criminal sexual conduct is punishable by up to life in prison, and at least 25 years behind bards. Third-degree child abuse is punishable by up to two years in prison.

Hahne will not have to register as a sex offender.

However, he cannot live with or care for minor children, other than family, and will have to undergo any sex offender treatment referred by his probation officer, court records show. He must also complete community service.