Man Cleared of Sex Assault Charges in Less Than 40 Minutes
SBBL client found not guilty on all counts
White Cloud, Mich. — June 9, 2023 — Nearly three years after being accused of sexually assaulting a female minor and facing charges carrying a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison, a Newaygo County jury took less than 40 minutes to clear a White Cloud man of all charges on June 9.
"From the moment this client hired us, he said, 'I didn't do this.' He never wavered and maintained his innocence throughout the whole ordeal, even when he was facing 25 years in prison upon conviction. When these types of allegations are levied, they are devastating to the accused, regardless of whether or not they actually did it. So, we set out to prove he didn't do it and clear his name," said attorney Gary K. Springstead of SBBL Law.
"One of the tools at our disposal to help prove somebody's innocence is a polygraph exam. Our client took and passed a polygraph examination early on in the investigation. The results were provided to the investigator and the prosecuting attorney's office, but they completely ignored it, which is frustrating," Mr. Springstead said. "The whole point of taking a polygraph is to help prevent wrongful convictions. The law even guarantees that anybody accused of a crime like this has the right to take a polygraph to prove their innocence. But the law does not guarantee that the charges will be dropped if you pass the polygraph, so the law's 'guarantee' is really meaningless if the prosecutor doesn't take that part of the statute seriously."
"Fortunately, the prosecutor's office does not have the final say, a jury does," his attorneys said. After a four-day trial, the jury deliberated for less than 40 minutes before acquitting the accused. "That speaks volumes about what they thought of the case, and they weren't even told about the polygraph." Polygraphs are inadmissible in court, according to well-established case law.
The defendant was represented by attorneys Gary K. Springstead and Nicole E. Springstead-Stolte of SBBL Law, criminal defense attorneys in Fremont and Grand Rapids, Michigan, respectively.
