Dr. Steven Scranton

A doctor at Westbrook Recovery Center, in Grand Rapids Township, was arraigned on January 31 on three charges of criminal sexual conduct.

According to the Kent County Sheriff Department, they began the investigation on November 29, 2017, when they received information from Westbrook staff regarding inappropriate conduct on the part of Dr. Steven Scranton, 64. 

Westbrook Recovery Center treats professionals for drug addiction and mental health issues. As the investigation proceeded, patients of Dr. Scranton reported to investigators several allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct. 

A search warrant was executed at his Rockford area home on January 29, and then Scranton was arrested and lodged in the Kent County jail. He was arraigned on one count of CSC 2^nd degree (multiple variables); and two counts of CSC 4^th degree. Bail was set at $15,000, 10 percent. Scranton later bonded out.

Investigation involves child sexually abusive activity 

Tyler Ryan Lowis

A 22-year-old Sparta man is in jail after police arrested him on multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct and child sexually abusive material.

According to the Michigan State Police, their Computer Crimes Unit, Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) involving child exploitation.

ICAC then conducted an investigation that led to the arrest of a Tyler Ryan Lowis, 22, of Sparta. On November 14, 2016, a search warrant was executed at Lowis’ residence. Evidence was recovered that connected Lowis to child sexually abusive material and criminal sexual conduct.

Lowis was lodged at the Kent County Correctional Facility on November 14 and arraigned on November 15, 2016. The Kent County Prosecutor’s Office issued the charges of Criminal Sexual Conduct, First Degree (3 Counts), Child Sexually Abusive Material, Manufacturing (3 Counts), and Using a Computer to Commit a Crime (3 Counts).

Christopher Corsello

Troopers from the Michigan State Police, Mt. Pleasant Post have arrested Christopher Clair Corsello, 33, in connection with an investigation into Criminal Sexual Conduct 1^ST Degree involving a minor under the age of 13 in Grant Township.

During the initial investigation, which began on February 16, troopers discovered that Corsello is on the Sex Offender Registry for a prior conviction involving a minor under 13, for which he spent 10-1/2 years in prison. He was discharged in 2014. Troopers also learned that Corsello was not staying at the address listed for him on the Sex Offender Registry.

On February 23, Troopers made contact with Corsello and arrested him for the Sex Offender Registration violation. After further investigation into the new incident, the Mecosta  County Prosecutor’s Office issued a four-count felony warrant for Criminal Sexual Conduct 1^st degree (minor under 13 years of age),  Criminal Sexual Conduct 2^nd Degree (minor under 13 years of age), Accosting a Child for Immoral Purposes, and Distributing Sexually Explicit Material to a minor.

Corsello was arrested on March 7 and arraigned on the additional charges in the 77^th District County in Big Rapids. He is currently being held at the Mecosta County Jail on a $1,000,000 bond.

Jon Eric Jungkind

By Judy Reed

The Michigan Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of former Cedar Springs High School teacher Jon Eric Jungkind, 46, on a charge of third degree criminal sexual conduct with a 17-year-old student.

They released their decision on June 24.

Jungkind, a popular teacher with students, was arrested in the fall of 2011, after the victim told police she had sexual intercourse on two separate occasions during the summer with Jungkind, who was her chemistry teacher. The incidents allegedly happened at his home in Nelson Township. The teen said that she became pregnant and that Jungkind bought her abortion pills to terminate the pregnancy, which she testified she took.

He denied having sex with her, but did admit to buying the abortion pills. He testified that he threw them away when she wouldn’t tell her parents about her pregnancy.

He was sentenced in December 2012 to 40 months to 15  years in prison.

Jungkind’s appeal argued that the trial court erred by allowing evidence regarding the student’s alleged pregnancy or alleged abortion, because the evidence was unfairly prejudicial.

However, The Michigan Court of Appeals felt the abortion evidence was relevant because it demonstrated that Jungkind believed she was pregnant and that it was likely that he was the one who got her pregnant.

“While the evidence also had a potential for prejudice, in light of the controversial nature of abortion, this did not substantially outweigh its probative value,” the court stated in its opinion released Wednesday, June 25.

The court also rejected Jungkind’s argument that he should have been able to look into when the victim took the abortion pill. He argues that she took it after being sexually active with another person. However, the trial court had referenced the rape-shield statute, noting that the victim’s sexual history was not relevant to the issue at trial.

Jungkind is serving time at the Pugsley Correctional Facility in Grand Traverse County. The earliest he could be released is March 2016, and the latest date would be November 2027.

Commissioner Gary Rolls

A Kent County Commissioner charged with four counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct announced last week that he is resigning as of January 1, 2014.

Kent County District 4 Commissioner Gary Rolls, 47, represents the townships of Oakfield, Grattan, Cannon, Vergennes, and the City of Lowell. He was arraigned last month on the CSC charges, three of which involve a child, and one involving the victim at age 17. He is also charged with tampering with evidence and using a computer to commit a crime. Bond was set at $500,000 cash or surety, and Rolls bonded out.

The victim, who is now 28, was reportedly a former neighbor of Rolls, who he began assaulting when she was nine or ten, and it continued for 13 years. She filed a restraining order against him in 2012, which brought the crime to light.

In his resignation letter, Rolls thanked the citizens of Kent County for allowing him to serve them. “I will use this time to prepare for trial and prove my absolute and complete innocence,” he added.

Dan Koorndyk, Chairman of the Board of Commissioners, said they accepted his resignation. “We appreciate that he recognizes it is better for the

Board of Commissioners to select a new member who can represent District 4 without distraction.”

The Board of Commissioners has 30 days from the effective date of resignation to select an individual to replace Rolls through the rest of his term. The person selected for that seat will hold it through December 2014. Those seeking the appointment to District 4 to replace Rolls should send a letter and resume to the Board of Commissioners Office, 300 Monroe Avenue, NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, by January 6, 2014.

Austin Mosher

A Cedar Springs man who pled guilty to an assault last summer has now been charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct and other charges.

According to Cedar Springs Police Chief Roger Parent and 63rd District Court, Austin Lee Mosher, 20, has been charged with one count of Criminal Sexual Conduct 3rd degree (incapacitated victim) and one count of CSC 4th degree (incapacitated victim), both felonies.  He was given a $10,000 10 percent bond on the charges and remains in custody.

He also has a separate charge of possession of drug paraphernalia (through the Kent County Sheriffs Department), and three separate cases of probation violation.

The probation violations are related to the assault case last spring, when he wandered up a stranger’s driveway in a drunken state, threatened to kill the man who lived there, and head butted and punched a dinner guest of the family, fracturing the man’s nose. Mosher pled guilty to aggravated assault, but two other counts—resisting/obstructing police and disorderly conduct/public drunkenness—were dismissed as part of the plea deal. He was sentenced to a 335 days in jail, which was suspended, as long as he served 30 days on a tether and abided by the terms of his probation. One of the violations involves not completing his tether, and the others have to do with not completing counseling and restitution.

Mosher will have a preliminary hearing on all the charges on March 21 at 2:45 p.m.