This opinion will be unpublished and 

may not be cited except as provided by 

Minn. Stat. § 480A.08, subd. 3 (2014). 

STATE OF MINNESOTA 

IN COURT OF APPEALS 

A16-0890 

State of Minnesota, 

Respondent, 

vs. 

Michael Scott Johnson, 

Appellant. 

Filed December 5, 2016 

Affirmed 

Reilly, Judge 

Anoka County District Court 

File No. 02-CR-15-867 

Lori Swanson, Attorney General, St. Paul, Minnesota; and 

Anthony C. Palumbo, Anoka County Attorney, Jon C. Audette, Assistant County Attorney, 

Anoka, Minnesota (for respondent) 

Aaron J. Morrison, Wold Morrison Law, Minneapolis, Minnesota (for appellant) 

 Considered and decided by Reilly, Presiding Judge; Halbrooks, Judge; and Johnson, 

Judge. 

U N P U B L I S H E D O P I N I O N 

REILLY, Judge 

 Appellant challenges the district court’s imposition of the presumptive guidelines 

prison sentence for his second-degree criminal-sexual-conduct conviction, arguing that he 

has no criminal history, has demonstrated remorse, and is particularly amenable to 
2 

probation and should be granted a downward dispositional departure. Because the district 

court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing, we affirm. 

FACTS 

Respondent State of Minnesota charged appellant Michael Johnson with firstdegree criminal sexual conduct, alleging that between April 26, 2013 and January 15, 2015, 

appellant had sexual contact with a child when the victim was under 13 years of age and 

appellant was more than 36 months older than the victim. The state amended the charge 

to second-degree criminal sexual conduct and appellant entered a plea of guilty to the 

amended charge. Appellant moved for a dispositional departure from the presumptive 

sentence under the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines, arguing that he was particularly 

amenable to treatment. The district court denied appellant’s motion and imposed the 

presumptive sentence of commitment to prison for a term of 90 months. See Minn. Sent. 

Guidelines IV (2014) (sentencing grid). This appeal follows. 

D E C I S I O N 

We review a district court’s refusal to grant a dispositional departure from the 

sentencing guidelines for an abuse of discretion, State v. Bertsch, 707 N.W.2d 660, 668 

(Minn. 2006), and we will affirm the imposition of a presumptive sentence “when the 

record shows that the sentencing court carefully evaluated all the testimony and 

information presented before making a determination.” State v. Johnson, 831 N.W.2d 917, 

925 (Minn. App. 2013), review denied (Minn. Sept. 17, 2013) (quotation omitted). 

The Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines prescribe a sentence or a range for the 

sentence that is “presumed to be appropriate.” State v. Soto, 855 N.W.2d 303, 308 (Minn. 
3 

2014) (quoting Minn. Sent. Guidelines 2.D.1 (2014)). The district court “must pronounce 

a sentence within the applicable range unless there exist identifiable, substantial, and 

compelling circumstances” distinguishing the case and overcoming the presumption in 

favor of the guidelines disposition. Id. A defendant’s “particular amenability to 

individualized treatment in a probationary setting” may justify a downward dispositional 

departure from a presumptive commitment to prison. Id. (quoting State v. Trog, 323 

N.W.2d 28, 31 (Minn. 1982) (emphasis omitted)). Minnesota courts are guided by several 

factors, known as Trog factors, to determine if a defendant is particularly amenable to 

individualized treatment in a probationary setting. Trog, 323 N.W.2d at 31. These factors 

include “the defendant’s age, his prior record, his remorse, his cooperation, his attitude 

while in court, and the support of [the defendant’s] friends and/or family.” Id. Offenserelated factors may also be used to support a dispositional departure. State v. Chaklos, 528 

N.W.2d 225, 228 (Minn. 1995); see also Soto, 855 N.W.2d at 313 (considering 

circumstances of offense when reviewing departure request). However, the presence of 

mitigating factors “[does] not obligate the court to place defendant on probation.” State v. 

Wall, 343 N.W.2d 22, 25 (Minn. 1984). 

Analysis of the Trog factors indicates that the district court did not abuse its 

discretion by denying a dispositional departure in this case. Appellant was 54 years old at 

sentencing. He had no prior criminal record. While past criminal history is a relevant 

factor, a defendant’s clean record does not by itself compel a dispositional departure 

“because that factor, in the form of defendant’s criminal history score, has already been 

taken into account by the Sentencing Guidelines in establishing the presumptive sentence.” 
4 

Trog, 323 N.W.2d at 31; Bertsch, 707 N.W.2d at 668. Appellant argued that he accepted 

responsibility for his crime and showed remorse, but the district court found that appellant 

lacked insight into his actions and the impact his actions had on his victim, relying in part 

on statements contained in the psychosexual evaluation report. The psychosexual 

evaluator noted that appellant had “limited insight” with regard to how his personal and 

relationship history affected his decisions leading to the crime, “demonstrate[d] significant 

lack of insight” into the reasons why the victim’s family would be angry toward him, 

“lack[ed] insight to the impact of his actions on others,” and demonstrated a “lack of insight 

or appreciation of the impact of his actions on others.” Lastly, appellant did not claim to 

have the support of family or friends, and the presentence investigation report states that 

appellant “is currently residing by himself” in a rural area in Minnesota and is not involved 

in outside activities. 

A consideration of these factors demonstrates that the district court did not abuse its 

discretion when it determined that a dispositional departure was not appropriate in this 

case. Moreover, even if appellant presented evidence that he was particularly amenable to 

probation, the sentencing court was not required to grant a dispositional departure. See 

Wall, 343 N.W.2d at 25 (“The fact that a mitigating factor was clearly present did not 

obligate the court to place defendant on probation or impose a shorter term than the 

presumptive term.”); see also Bertsch, 707 N.W.2d at 668 (stating that appellate courts 

“will not ordinarily interfere with a [presumptive] sentence . . . even if there are grounds 

that would justify departure” (quotation omitted)). The Minnesota Supreme Court 

recognized that only the “rare case” merits reversal based on the district court’s refusal to 
5 

depart from the sentencing guidelines. State v. Kindem, 313 N.W.2d 6, 7 (Minn. 1981) 

(noting that it is the “rare case which would warrant reversal of the refusal to depart”). This 

is not the “rare case” compelling reversal. The district court considered the circumstances 

for and against departure and concluded that appellant was not entitled to a downward 

dispositional departure from the sentencing guidelines. The record supports the district 

court’s decision that there were not “substantial and compelling reason[s]” supporting a 

dispositional departure in this case, Soto, 855 N.W.2d at 314, and we affirm. 

Affirmed.