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Sexual Assault Charges Dropped After Prosecutor Accused Of Misconduct

   DailyWire.com
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Two previously charged with sexual assault have had their charges tentatively dismissed after the prosecutor in charge of the case resigned over allegations of misconduct.

One of the accused men lived in Detroit’s affluent Oxford suburb. The other was his stepson. The Daily Wire will not name the men because the charges have been tentatively dismissed. Both were investigated in 2015 for the alleged sexual assault of a child under the age of 13. The Detroit Free Press reported that the “Oakland County Sheriff’s Office had investigated the cases against [the two men] in 2015 and submitted its findings to the prosecutor’s office, which ended up not charging the two men because it couldn’t establish that the crime had occurred.”

But earlier this year, the two men were investigated for the same crime once again. Undersheriff Mike McCabe wrote a letter on September 13 to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, saying, “The defendants were thoroughly investigated on the same allegations in 2015 by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, Child Protective Services and the FBI.” McCabe added that after “careful review, it was determined by all four agencies that the case lacked evidence and probably [sic] cause to justify actions by CPS or an arrest warrant” for either of the men. The stepfather, McCabe said, also passed several polygraph tests. Further, the two men were kept in prison for six months due to the allegations. The stepfather was kept in isolation because he was a police officer.

The prosecutor involved in the case this year, assistant Attorney General Brian Kolodziej, resigned in September after it was revealed he had an inappropriate intimate relationship with the victim in another sexual assault case. Kolodziej’s behavior led to investigations into all his other cases. Of those cases, the one involving the Oxford man and his stepson “rose to the level of further investigation and have been turned over to the Michigan State Police to see whether criminal charges can be brought against Kolodziej,” the Free Press reported.

Michigan Attorney General Nessel did not expand on why she filed a motion to dismiss the charges against the two men.

“I am compelled to dismiss the charges in this case following the information we received regarding Mr. Kolodziej’s prosecutorial conduct, which are tantamount to serious violations of our prosecutorial standards,” Nessel said in a statement, as reported by the Free Press.

Chief Assistant Oakland County Prosecutor Paul Walton said the case was too murky to bring charges four years ago.

“Not based on the evidence we had,” he told the Free Press, “We had no evidence of sexual abuse and we had two forensic interviews of the child where there was no disclosure of criminal sexual assault.”

Kolodziej’s affair also led to Nessel setting aside the plea deal of the man accused of sexually assaulting the woman with whom the former assistant AG had the relationship.

“We are committed to doing everything we can to address the issues caused by Mr. Kolodziej’s employment as an assistant attorney general,” Nessel said, according to the Free Press. “We will submit all of our internal interviews to the Michigan State Police as well as the Attorney Grievance Commission so they may independently determine appropriate actions.”

The Attorney General added that the dismissals did not mean the office thought the accusers were lying, and said the charges could be brought again if more evidence came to light.

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