Past sexual assault charges haunt Michigan man

On behalf of Simon & Geherin, PLLC posted in Sexual Assault on Tuesday, May 1, 2012.

One of the most important reasons to fight criminal sexual conduct charges in Michigan with every possible tool is that merely being charged with criminal sexual conduct will have long-term consequences. One Saline, Michigan, man has found out the hard way that allegations of sexual assault are not soon forgotten by the police.In 2010, the man was accused of criminal sexual conduct, assault, and home invasion. The alleged victim (a neighbor of the suspect) claimed he had entered her apartment without permission, started groping and kissing her, and later followed her to a laundry facility and attempted to further assault her. While interviewing this woman, the police discovered that the suspect had allegedly stolen a cell phone from another woman in the complex who had recently broken off a relationship with the man.Although the man was cleared of all the criminal sexual conduct, assault, and home invasion charges, he was arrested for larceny and received a one-month prison sentence for stealing his ex-girlfriend's phone. Now, two years later, the man is accused of stalking the ex-girlfriend whose cell phone he took. He is currently being held on $25,000 bail.The issue is easy to spot: prison time for stealing an ex-girlfriend's cell phone? Bail set at $25,000 for unproven allegations of stalking? Even though he was cleared of all charges, the stigma of criminal sexual conduct clearly remains, and continues to affect the man two years later.As this man's legal troubles show, having criminal sexual conduct charges on your record can come back to haunt you. Being cleared of all charges sometimes isn't enough; the charges alone have the capacity to negatively influence a defendant's life for years to come. A strong criminal defense team is a necessity to reduce the impact of the charges and prevent years of serious consequences.Ann Arbor criminal defense attorney Daniel T. Geherin is a board-certified former prosecutor with more than 25+ years of criminal trial experience who works tirelessly to protect his clients' rights.Source: The Ann Arbor News, "Man held on $25,000 bond for allegedly stalking woman he dated before prison term," Kyle Feldscher, April 25, 2012