On March 5th, 2025, Judge Joshua Ferrell returned to the courtroom with Harold Norman Cole, Jr. for sentencing on a charge from November 2024. Cole is a former pastor at Farwell Trinity Baptist Church.
The original charge was second-degree CSC, filed in June 2021 in a state other than Michigan. A victim reported the event to authorities in his home state, and a warrant was issued for Cole’s arrest on Halloween last year.
In this March hearing, Judge Ferrell acquitted Cole of the initial charge of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. Cole pleaded nolo contendere, or ‘no contest,’ to the allegation of aggravated assault. When a defendant pleads ‘no contest,’ they do not acknowledge guilt but accept punishment as if they were guilty. This form of plea can result in a conviction that has the same immediate consequences as a guilty plea, but it cannot be used against the defendant in subsequent civil proceedings involving the same occurrence.
Judge Joshua Ferrell’s official sentence was Aggravated Assault, which included 365 days in county jail, 18 months of probation, and many fines. Cole will be back in court for a review on October 6, 2026.