Humiliation and Self-Destruction

Sorry, asshole, that isn't actually enough of a punishment.

Michael Flory, 33, of Jackson, Mich., told a Cuyahoga County Common Pleas judge that his humiliation and self-destruction should be pun ishment enough for his guilty plea to a sexual- battery charge.

Judge Peter Corrigan couldn't have disagreed more.

Corrigan sentenced Flory, the longtime head of the Michigan Federation of Young Republicans, to five years in prison. That's the maximum term for the offense.

...

During the hearing, Flory referred to himself pitiably over and over. He lamented that his "stupid choices" destroyed him politically, ended his law career and devastated his family. His status as a registered sexually oriented offender would forever bar him from his son's scholastic athletic events, he told Corrigan.

He apologized to the victim and blamed his behavior on his "choice to drink to excess" and "have sexual relations" with her. He said his intention now is "to get my life back on track in as short a period as possible."

What he called sexual relations, the victim called rape. (The state dropped rape and kidnapping counts in the plea deal.)

The woman, a Detroit college student, said she drank herself sick at a Warehouse District bar on July 8, 2006, during the National Federation of Young Republicans' convention. Flory, who led her state's delegation, offered to take her back to her room. There, she said, he forced her into sexual "atrocities" and called her degrading names.

The woman and Assistant County Prosecutor Carol Skutnik said Flory and his friends later executed a campaign of Internet postings and whispers within the state GOP, accusing the victim of loose morals and character assassination.