'F*** you,' Sexual Assault Victim Tells Abuser, an ex-Saginaw County, MI, Firefighter

SAGINAW, MI — A former Saginaw County firefighter is to spend at least a dozen years in prison for sexually assaulting boys whom he plied with drugs, alcohol, and vape pens. Before he learned his sentence, though, one of his victims delivered an emotional statement, detailing how he is overcoming the exploitation he endured.

“I’m learning to see myself as a survivor instead of a victim,” the teen said. “I trusted you. You abused that trust. This ends here. You no longer have power over me or my future. I am moving forward and I am leaving this behind.”

The teen spoke during the Monday, April 27, sentencing hearing of 48-year-old Ryan M. Schilling, held before Saginaw County Circuit Judge Darnell Jackson.

Schilling in March pleaded no contest to two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct causing mental anguish and one count of creating child sexually abusive activity. The first charge is a life offense while the latter is a 20-year felony.

Prosecutors dismissed five more counts of criminal sexual conduct and two counts of accosting children for immoral purposes.

The teen stood at a podium and read from a letter he’d written in advance.

“Ryan, before this happened, I was kid,” he said. “What you did changed me in ways that are still affecting me to this day. You took away my sense of safety, my trust, and my childhood.”

Schilling stood a few feet away, defense attorney Alan A. Crawford between him and the teen. Schilling maintained a sullen, stone-faced countenance as the teen spoke.

Schilling presented himself as a trustworthy pillar of the community, making his abuse worse, the teen continued.

The teen said he did not recall the first time he went to Schilling’s house, though he remembers the final time.

“I knew when I walked out I would never return and I was finally safe,” he said. “The 11-year-old boy who stepped into your house was not the same person who walked out. What you did … made me feel powerless, ashamed and disgusted with myself.”

The teen still has nightmares and struggles to feel safe, he said. He’s often on edge and tense, finding it difficult to relax as he lives with memories he never asked for. He’s currently in therapy, is sober, and is rebuilding relationships, he said.

The teen asked Jackson to impose a lengthy sentence, to both help his ongoing healing and to protect other potential victims.

As he finished his statement, the teen turned toward Schilling and grew more antagonistic.

“F*** you, f*** you,” he shouted. “I hope you get your ass beat in jail.”

The teen’s mother then delivered a statement.

“You should be aware of the harm you did to the image of the badge you hid behind,” she told Schilling. “You used that red truck to convey safety; you’re the farthest thing from safe.”

She said she takes joy in imaging the sound of Schilling’s cell door clanging shut and the sunsets he’ll be prevented from seeing. She vowed to attend his parole hearings and do all in her power to ensure he remains imprisoned for as long as possible.

“You made the world a dangerous place,” she said. “Ryan Matthew Schilling, I’ll see you again in 12 years.”

Schilling declined to speak when Jackson gave him the chance. Attorney Crawford said Schilling understands he has a debt to pay to society and that he plans to use his time in prison to better himself.

Schilling’s advisory sentencing guidelines ranged from nine to 15 years.

Jackson stated he has received numerous letters from people unhappy over Schilling’s case resolving with a plea deal rather than a conviction at trial. He stated the victims and their families were in agreement with the plea.

Jackson sentenced Schilling to concurrent terms of seven to 20 years and 12 to 30 years in prison. He gave him credit for 421 days already served and ordered he register as a sex offender. He further ordered Schilling to pay $494 in fines and costs within 60 days.

During an April 2025 preliminary examination, two boys, ages 15 and 13, testified Schilling abused them over several years. Both said they had known Schilling since they were children as they all lived in separate residences within Neighbors of Parkwood Village Mobile Home Park in Burt. The older teen testified Schilling gave him vapes, alcohol, marijuana, Xanax, cocaine, and cash when he visited his residence.

Schilling, a former Albee Township firefighter, began sexually assaulting the boy when he was 11, the teen testified.

“I couldn’t tell no one because (Schilling said) people in jail would hurt him,” the witness testified. “He wasn’t built for jail, that’s what he’d tell me. He made me feel like I was in the wrong.”

Schilling threatened to kill himself if he was charged with a crime, the teen said. His house had guns “laying everywhere,” he said.

The teen further testified he started blackmailing Schilling to continue getting vapes.

The teen’s allegations came to light in early 2025 after he suffered a mental breakdown and required hospitalization. The teen gave his account during a January interview at the Child Abuse and Neglect (CAN) Council. After the interview, the teen continued visiting Schilling’s residence, he said.

The 13-year-old boy testified he began going to Schilling’s for vapes when he was 7. Schilling started molesting him and told him not to tell anyone, the teen said. Schilling would “pay him” with vapes, marijuana, alcohol, and an iPhone, he said.

The teen estimated he sneaked out of his family’s house every night for two years to visit Schilling’s. Schilling assaulted him about four times a week, he said. He was often intoxicated from the vodka Schilling gave him, but his parents didn’t notice, he said.

“I just wanted to be cool and fit in with the older kids,” the witness said.

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