Judge Lets Newberry Man Out on Bond While Facing Sexual Battery and Child Molestation Charges After Friends and Family Submit Letters of Support

On September 18, Judge Denise Ferrero denied a state attorney’s motion for pretrial detention on alleged child rapist Michael D’Artagnon Kesselring. 

According to the pretrial detention motion, Kesselring was dating the victim’s mother, and he abused his position to molest and sexually batter her child. Kesselring reportedly forced the victim, who was as young as 12, to sit on his lap while they watched movies, touched her inappropriately and pressed his genitals against her body through his pants. 

On one occasion, Kesselring and the victim were in an argument when he reportedly raped her with his fingers, only stopping when the victim moved away.  

Kesselring has retained private legal counsel from John J. Kelly of the Glassman & Zissimopulos Law Firm. 

Kesselring is the director of a software business in Newberry. 

Instead of supporting the victim, several notable individuals in the Alachua County community have decided to support Kesselring. Several of his friends, which include a medical provider, a University of Florida (UF) alumni advisory board member, and a realtor, submitted letters to the court in support of his pretrial release.  

Gainesville realtor Kim Capen Buchholz told the court that she’s known Kesselring as a friend since 2017, when they met at trivia nights in Tioga. “Even though he was just 26 when we met, the same age as my son, Mike and I became very close friends within a subset of the larger friend group for many years, often delving into deep philosophical and practical discussions about relationships, business, life & career planning, spirituality and personal growth,” wrote Buchholz. 

According to Buchholz, Kesselring "could easily attract a plethora of young women if he wanted to." She wrote, "In the eight years we've been friends, I've only known him to have three girlfriends, all long-term, and all of whom are lovely, age-appropriate women. I have never seen even a hint of Mike being inappropriately interested in adolescents or even very young women. In fact, at least two of the three are somewhat older than Mike.”

Newberry man Joel Reynolds revealed in his letter that Kesselring attended Bible college, saying he met him shortly after he left. 

Reynolds called himself a mentor to Kesselring and wrote, “He has been a welcomed guest in my home on numerous occasions, including holidays with my family. Around both adults and children, he has always conducted himself with respect and consideration. I have known him to be kind, thoughtful, and level-headed--someone who approaches situations with logic and sincerity rather than impulsiveness.”

Reynolds’ wife, Kimberly Reynolds, wrote, “Michael has also been around our children many times, and we have always trusted him completely in our home and around our family. His interactions have consistently been kind, appropriate, and respectful, and he has served as a positive role model to those around him.”

Licensed medical provider Tressa Rieser wrote that she’s had “the privilege” of knowing Kesselring as a friend for the past eight years. Rieser called her support for Kesselring “unwavering.” 

“It is with great shock and concern that I learned about his recent arrest, which I believe to be a misunderstanding or mistake,” wrote Rieser. “My friendship with Mike first began when he became the boyfriend to a dear friend of mine. We shared many experiences together during the several years Mike and my friend were a couple. In all the time I've known Mike, he has consistently demonstrated integrity and compassion for the wellbeing of others and at no time could his behavior be misconstrued as inappropriate or lascivious.”

UF alumni advisory board member Maxwell Minch wrote that he knows Kesselring as both his friend and business attorney. 

Minch wrote, “Over seven years I have observed Mike in private social settings and professional contexts where judgment and restraint matter. He is steady, respectful, and careful about boundaries. He has interacted with my own children in normal family and community settings, and I never had cause for concern. Rules and accountability matter to him. In my experience he respects the boundaries of adults and minors alike, and he conducts himself appropriately in both public and private settings. When I met with him during his recent detention, his immediate reaction reflected genuine shock and disbelief. While I appreciate that this observation is not dispositive, it is consistent with the person I have known since 2018.”

Minch said he’d be willing to “serve as a third-party custodian or professional point of contact to reinforce [Kesselring’s] compliance and ensure his appearance.”

Kesselring’s friend James Robbins wrote that Kesselring is “a person of strong values who seeks to live honorably.” Robbins wrote that Kesselring “has grown in maturity exponentially since we first became friends.”

Despite the State Attorney’s Office filing a pretrial detention motion, Ferrero denied it and granted Kesselring a bond of $125,000, which he posted soon after the hearing.

Under the conditions of his release, Kesselring cannot contact the victim or her family. He is barred from possessing any firearms or consuming drugs and alcohol. 

Kesselring has been fitted with an ankle monitor and must abide by a 7 am - 7 pm curfew with exceptions for work purposes. 

Court orders ban Kesselring from having unsupervised contact with minors, meaning he is allowed to make contact with children if he is under adult supervision.