Case Dismissed Against Area Man Charged With Sexual Assault
August 1, 2019
40-year-old Rrok Dedivanaj of Linden was charged in January with five counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct - force or coercion. An 18-year-old female from South Lyon told authorities she had been sexually assaulted by Dedivanaj at a home in Tyrone Township in December of 2018.
Dedivanaj was bound over to Livingston County Circuit Court on those charges in April, after a 53rd District Court judge found there was enough evidence to send the case to trial. But court records show that the case was recently dismissed by Livingston County Circuit Court Judge Suzanne Geddis following a hearing last Thursday regarding a motion to quash the bind over. The defendant alleged in his motion that the testimony at the preliminary examination was legally insufficient to establish the crimes charged, despite the district court judge finding probable cause to support the charges.
In the order supporting her reason for dismissal, Judge Geddis states that the preliminary exam in District Court found that the evidence presented showed a combination of consent by the complainant and coercion by the defendant; however the combination of consent and coercion is not legally sufficient to support the element of force or coercion in the charged counts and that it did not warrant binding the case over to Circuit Court. Geddis found that therefore the bind over by the District Court judge was an abuse of discretion. As a result, the bind over was quashed and the case was dismissed in its entirety.
Livingston County Prosecutor Bill Vailliencourt tells WHMI his office will be reviewing the court’s decision and consulting with the victim to determine whether they should appeal or if there is additional evidence that would merit re-filing the charges. Judge Geddis' order is attached below. (DK)