Macomb Prosecutor Fights Release Of Sex Criminal

MOUNT CLEMENS (WWJ) A hearing scheduled for Monday morning in Macomb County to determine whether a three-time convicted child sex offender will be released from prison was postponed three weeks.

Mark Liske, 47, has served 12 years in prison for sexually assaulting three young girls, 9 to 12 years old, in Macomb and St. Clair counties more than a decade ago, and Prosecutor Eric Smith is fighting his release.

Liske was sentenced in 2001 to 10 to 40 years in prison for first degree criminal sexual conduct and five to 15 years for second-degree sexual conduct for incidents involving a 12-year-old girl;  in 2000, he was sentenced to three 5-15 year terms for second-degree criminal conduct for a St. Clair County case involving the initial victim  and another 12-year-old girl.

He also was convicted in 2000 of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct with a 9-year-old girl.

The Michigan Parole Board says Liske, 47, is now ready to be released. But Smith, who personally prosecuted Liske, says he still remains a risk to the public.

"As long as he remains a risk to the public, my office will continue to fight his release into society," Smith said.

Liske was also charged while in the prison system with assaulting a prison employee and attempting an escape.

"Eric Smith can make a very compelling argument to keep this guy in prison," said WWJ Legal Analyst Charlie Langton.

This effort comes courtesty of the parole appeals unit Smith set up in the prosecutor's office to monitor who should stay in and who should be out of prison.