Pontiac – — A Royal Oak man who
spent seven years in prison on charges of child sex assault, a crime he did not
commit, is suing the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, alleging false arrest and
malicious prosecution, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Oakland Circuit
Court.
Jacob Trakhtenberg, 77, was
charged and convicted of second-degree criminal sexual conduct in 2005 after a
53-minute bench trial where his court-appointed attorney, Deborah McKelvey,
made no opening statement nor did she call one witness on his behalf before
then-Judge Debra Tyner.
The prosecution’s chief
witness, who initiated the complaint, was Trakhtenberg’s ex-wife.
The Michigan Supreme Court
later ruled Trakhtenberg had ineffective counsel, overturned his conviction and
ruled he could sue McKelvey for violating his civil rights.
Trakhtenberg did sue, and
subsequently accepted a $505,000 out-of-court agreement from McKelvey, who
specified the settlement was not an admission of guilt. McKelvey, who has
declined comment to reporters, is still subject to an attorney grievance
complaint.
“We feel this (lawsuit) is
necessary because but for a faulty investigation that did not follow normal
protocol with a suspected juvenile sex victim, he never would have been
arrested or charged in the first place,” said John Elliott, Trakhtenberg’s new
attorney.
The 25-page complaint lists the
sheriff’s office, Sheriff Michael Bouchard and Detective Terry Cashman as
responsible for him being wrongfully charged.
The lawsuit charges that the
detective planted suggested questions with the child’s mother and interviewed
the child at home instead of a neutral site, which is standard procedure.
Trakhtenberg had always
maintained that — on request and with the knowledge of the mother — he had
applied an ointment to the child’s vagina with his finger to treat a medical
problem. That action was falsely fashioned into inappropriate touching,
according to the complaint.
Bouchard said Wednesday he had
not been served with the complaint, and was not aware of all the legal issues
but said they will be reviewed by county attorneys.
Trakhtenberg, a Russian
immigrant who came to the U.S. with $15 in his pockets, became a Chrysler
engineer, built a $1.2 million home in Orion Township and then lost it all
because of the false charges, Elliott said.
