Special to IFN

A Sherrills Ford man who was charged with sexually assaulting women in Iredell and Mooresville counties has been sentenced to 50 to 120 months in prison.

Michael Brandon Shinn, 31, entered an Alford plea to three counts of second-degree forcible sex offense on Tuesday. In addition to the active prison sentence, he must register as a sex offender for 30 years. He will be on supervised probation for 10 years. 

The Mooresville Police Department began investigating on June 19, 2022, after receiving a report of a sexual assault that occurred at 1459 River Highway.

The victim stated that she met the suspect online and agreed to meet him in Mooresville on June 16, 2022. After meeting the suspect, the victim got into the suspect’s vehicle and was taken to a remote parking lot, where she was forcibly sexually assaulted by the suspect. After the assault, the suspect left the victim in the parking lot without her vehicle or phone.

MPD detectives identified Shinn as the suspect using information the victim provided about her attacker and his vehicle.

During the course of the investigation, detectives learned that the suspect was targeting women online and may have committed similar crimes in other jurisdictions.

As a result of the investigation and collaboration with surrounding agencies, MPD investigators charged Shinn with two counts of second-degree forcible rape and one count of second-degree forcible sex offense. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office also charged Shinn with two counts of first-degree sex offense and two counts of second-degree kidnapping in connection with cases involving two other victims.

As part of his sentence, Shinn received permanent no-contact orders with all three of his victims.