An Edgewood man is facing life in prison after pleading guilty to 84 felony offenses related to the physical and sexual abuse of children and eight misdemeanor offenses for torturing a cat.
On March 2, 39-year-old Christopher Michael Whittaker pleaded guilty to those charges. Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Emily Arnzen did not offer Whittaker any plea deals. Whittaker’s sentencing is scheduled for April 25.
“I will absolutely be asking the judge to sentence this defendant to life in prison, and he knows it but pled guilty anyway,” Arnzen said.
Michelle Bray is facing a charge of human trafficking in connection to the case and could be sentenced to up to 70 years in prison. She was previously indicted for first degree criminal abuse, four counts of complicity to promoting a sexual performance by a minor, and one count of first degree complicity to sexual abuse. She is scheduled to stand trial on April 5.
Arnzen gave credit to Edgewood Police Department Detective James Kreinest for his work on the case.
“Detective Kreinest armed me with the evidence needed to obtain a guilty verdict without a trial, and we hope to follow that up with the maximum possible sentence,” Arnzen said.
