TRAVERSE CITY — The Michigan Attorney General’s office is considering the appointment of a special prosecutor in the case of Rob Hentschel, who chairs the Grand Traverse County Commission.
Hentschel is under investigation for first-degree criminal sexual conduct after a 38-year-old woman alleged he sexually assaulted her during a party in East Bay Township on Oct. 4-5.
No one has been arrested, charged or arraigned in the case. Hentschel denies the allegations, saying in a written comment to the Record-Eagle: “The implications in the report are false.” He said he plans to remain on the county commission.
Last week, law enforcement officials released a five-page criminal complaint written by an officer just after midnight on Sunday, Oct. 6. In that document, the alleged victim says she was sexually assaulted by Hentschel at a party on the evening of Oct. 4-5. Others were also present and may have taken part in some way, but those names have been redacted in the public version of the complaint.
Sometime in early October, after the criminal complaint was filed, the Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s office forwarded the case to the Michigan State Police for further investigation, because of a possible conflict of interest, since the county board oversees the budgets of the Sheriff’s Department and county prosecutor’s office, among other departments and agencies.
On Nov. 5, state police officials sent the case to County Prosecutor Noelle Moeggenberg. She then referred the case to the state Attorney General’s office on Nov. 14, to request a special prosecutor or assignment of the case to a different venue outside Grand Traverse County.
A spokesman for the Attorney General’s office said Monday the request for a special prosecutor remains under review.
“At this time, I am unable to share any additional information about the request for the appointment of a special prosecutor or the underlying complaint or investigation,” said AG Press Secretary Danny Wimmer. “The release of any information regarding this request should be decided by the prosecuting agency that ultimately handles this case, which has not yet been determined.”
The request for the appointment of a special prosecutor will come first to the Department of Attorney General for assessment of whether the claimed conflict (of interest) exists, Wimmer said in an email, adding that, in most cases, a request is sent to the Prosecuting Attorneys Coordinating Council to be placed with a different prosecuting agency to handle the case.
The PACC is an autonomous group within the Department of Attorney General that coordinates case management with county-level prosecutors and their staffs. In addition to reviewing conflict-of-interest cases, PACC provides educational, research and administrative services.
This is the second time this year that an elected member of the county board has been involved in a case alleging a sexual crime. In late June, board Vice Chair Brad Jewett was arrested for solicitation of prostitution in a law enforcement sting operation.
Following a long delay, Jewett pleaded guilty on Nov. 12 to one charge of engaging the services of a prostitute. He is scheduled to be sentenced on that misdemeanor conviction on Dec. 23.
Protest planned
A group of local citizens is planning to gather at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday outside the Governmental Center at 400 Boardman Ave. in Traverse City to protest Hentschel’s continued presence on the board and call for his resignation.
The protest is being organized, at least in part, by local advocacy group Traverse Indivisible. The group’s steering committee members said they wanted to “make public our call for Hentschel’s resignation, and to do it with respect and discretion, but with the power that we together can show.”
The county board has a regularly scheduled meeting Wednesday starting at 9 a.m. in the second-floor commission chambers. Hentschel’s investigation is not on the agenda.