Former owner of equestrian center pleads guilty to child sex abuse
A plea agreement has been reached in the federal case against one of the former owners of Smith's Creek Equestrian Center in Kimball Township.
Austin Sabb-Visga, 30, has agreed to plead guilty to three of the 16 felony charge against him, including conspiracy to sexually exploit children and two counts of sexual exploitation of children. Each charge is punishable with a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison, a maximum term of 30 years and up to a $250,000 fine.
The plea deal notes a judge could order the sentences be served consecutively, in which case Sabb-Visga would face a minimum of 45 years in prison.
The charges dropped include five more counts of sexual exploitation of a child, distribution of child pornography and possession of child pornography.
Todd-Sabb Visga, Austin's partner who ran the stable with him, has not reached a similar plea deal.
The deal does not mention charges filed against Austin by St. Clair County, though both defendants' attorneys had said a plea deal was in the works. Neither their attorneys nor St. Clair County Prosecutor Mike Wendling could be reached for comment.
Austin and Todd were arrested in June after a Michigan State Police investigation reportedly found evidence the couple was allegedly sexually exploiting children to produce child pornography.
The plea deal includes a list of facts Austin will admit to as part of the agreement, including that he and Todd conspired to sexually abuse children under their care between August 2022 and March 2023 and record it on video to produce child porn, which Austin will admit he distributed to Todd and others. The plea deal mentions three children who were abused by the couple.
The couple's arrest shocked the Blue Water community in 2023 because the equestrian center included events for children, The business has been closed since their arrest.
Austin's sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 18. Both he and Todd have hearings plea deal hearings scheduled for Monday in the county cases.
Contact Johnathan Hogan at jhogan@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Former owner of equestrian center pleads guilty to child sex abuse
