Man faces life sentence after molestation plea
BY BILL BRAUN World Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
2/12/13 at 6:22 AM
A man with a record of sex crimes faces a life prison sentence on a charge of molesting a teenage boy.
Michael Jon Bauhaus, 55, of Tulsa pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of lewd molestation.
He has no agreement with prosecutors to govern his punishment.
Tulsa County District Judge Bill Musseman set his sentencing for April 1. The judge informed Bauhaus that based on his record, the only sentencing options are a life term, either with or without the possibility of parole.
The guilty plea involves two counts of molesting a 15-year-old boy in 2011.
The boy disclosed that Bauhaus had fondled him and had forced him to touch Bauhaus' penis. The victim participated in a "pretext" phone conversation with Bauhaus, who apologized and said, "I can't help myself," according to a Tulsa police affidavit.
The victim has a type of autism and functions on the level of an 8- or 9-year-old, according to Assistant District Attorney Sarah McAmis.
Before the molestations, the boy had known Bauhaus for about four years, and the defendant had become "a father figure to the victim," McAmis wrote in a court document.
In 1985, Bauhaus was sentenced to three years in prison plus three years of probation after he pleaded guilty to six counts involving allegations that he sodomized a boy in 1982, when that victim was 13 to 14 years old.
In 1994, Bauhaus was sentenced to 10 years in prison plus five years suspended after he pleaded guilty to a 1993 charge of lewd molestation, records indicate.
A life prison term with parole possible in the current case would require Bauhaus to serve about 38 years behind bars before becoming eligible for release.
He has been in the Tulsa Jail since January 2012.
Original Print Headline: Tulsa man faces life sentence for latest sex-abuse conviction
Bill Braun 918-581-8455
bill.braun@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Michael Jon Bauhaus: With a string of past sex crimes on his record, he now faces a life sentence after he pleaded guilty to two counts of lewd molestation involved a 15-year-old boy. His sentencing is scheduled for April 1.
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