Lansing, MI – A Florida man who fled Michigan after being charged with sexually assaulting a minor relative has now been sentenced to decades behind bars.
Vincent Allen Payne, 60, of Valrico, Florida, was sentenced Monday to 19 to 30 years in prison by Judge Sara S. Lisznyai of the 1st Circuit Court after a Hillsdale County jury convicted him of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. The conviction stems from repeated sexual assaults committed between 2004 and 2008 while Payne was living in the same home as the victim in the city of Hillsdale. The victim was under the age of 15 at the time of the abuse.
Payne was originally charged by the Hillsdale County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in January 2010. Instead of appearing in court to face the allegations, prosecutors say he fled the state. For years, the case remained open while authorities searched for him.
He was eventually located in Florida and extradited back to Michigan last year by the United States Marshals Service as part of Operation Survivor Justice, a coordinated effort between the Michigan Department of Attorney General, local county prosecutors, and federal authorities to track down and return fugitives accused of sexual assault.
A Hillsdale County jury convicted Payne on January 15, 2026. Under Michigan law, first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a victim under 15 years old is among the most serious felony offenses in the state. Because the victim was a minor relative and the assaults occurred inside the home, Payne faced the possibility of life in prison or any term of years. The charge also carries mandatory sex offender registration and lifetime electronic monitoring upon release.
If the court had determined the victim was under 13 at the time of the assaults, Michigan law would have required a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years. Ultimately, the judge imposed a sentence of 19 to 30 years after considering the sentencing guidelines, statutory requirements, and the circumstances of the abuse.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel credited the multi-agency effort that brought Payne back to Michigan more than a decade after he was first charged.
“My office, and prosecutors across the State, are able to secure accountability for sexual predators through our continued efforts under Operation Survivor Justice,” Nessel said. “I am grateful for the tireless work of the U.S. Marshals Service, the Hillsdale County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, and the dedicated prosecutors in my office that brought about justice for this victim, so many years after her assault.”
The assaults occurred more than 15 years ago. The charge was filed in 2010. Payne left the state and avoided prosecution for years. Now, at 60 years old, he begins serving a sentence that will likely keep him in prison well into his later decades, bringing a long-delayed case to its conclusion in a Hillsdale County courtroom.
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