Ingham County Prosecutor Arrested On Prostitution Charges

LANSING (WWJ/AP) - The Ingham County prosecutor has been accused of crimes that, if he's convicted, could land him behind bars for decades.

Attorney General Bill Schuette says Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings is facing felony charges related to prostitution — something that allegedly went on for nearly five years.

The charges, filed at four courts in three Michigan counties (Ingham, Clinton, and Ionia), include a total of 15 criminal counts including 10 counts and engaging in the services of prostitute and four counts of willful neglect of duty.

Dunnings is accused of trading cash for sex; but Schuette said, the most serious is the charge of enticement (prostitution/pandering, 1 count).

"A felony for enticing a woman, who had never before engaged in commercial sex, to perform sexual acts with him for cash," Schuette said, at a news conference.

He said Dunnings role as a crime fighter certainly doesn't exclude him from justice.

"It does not matter. If you break the law, there are consequences," Schuette said.

The accusations against Dunnings come after a federal human trafficking investigation.

Ingham County Sheriff Gene Wrigglesworth said the AG's description of the investigation's findings as "disheartening" isn't strong enough.

"In my opinion, it would be an understatement. This was a huge betray of the trust," he told reporters.

Dunnings was arrested Monday and is being held in the Ingham County Jail.

The 63-year-old has been prosecutor in Ingham County, the home of Michigan's state capital, for nearly 20 years.

Dunnings' office said, earlier Monday, that it was  unaware of the arrest or charges.

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