150-to-210-Year Sentence Handed Down in Transylvania County Child Sex Offense Case

Transylvania County -- In a sentencing that reverberated through the halls of the Transylvania County Superior Court on Friday, February 27, 2026, Michael Joseph Dean, 47, of Cedar Mountain, was ordered to spend the remainder of his life behind bars.The sentencing followed a rigorous three-week trial where a jury found Dean guilty of six counts of first-degree statutory sex offense involving a victim under the age of 13. Superior Court Judge Steve Warren presided over the case, delivering a cons