LANSING — Attorney General Dana Nessel formally announced a $1 million grant program Wednesday with the U.S. Marshals Service to locate, apprehend, and return to Michigan fugitive offenders with outstanding sexual assault warrants.
Branch County already benefitted with the June apprehension and extradition of Anthony Cuyler, 46, who was located in Mexico and is facing 2019 charges of sexual assault of two Union City minors.
Cuyler is in the Branch County Jail without bond and is awaiting trial.
Branch County Prosecutor Zack Stempien attended the media event to thank Nessel and other participants. "This operation has thus far provided for the apprehension and prosecution of multiple alleged criminal sexual conduct cases. Without the assistance of the Attorney General's Office and U.S. Marshals, the defendants may still be fugitives at large," he said.
Stempien said his $500 local extradition budget does not cover the cost of returning absconders from nearby Indiana by private services.
Related story : Cuyler bound over for trial in 2019 sex with minors cases after return from Mexico
The charges eligible for extradition under this program are primarily criminal sexual conduct physical contact-based sexual offenses and accosting a minor for immoral purposes.
All 83 Michigan counties are eligible for Operation Survivor Justice.
More than 800 defendants are currently out on cash bail and believed to be outside the state of Michigan.
These cases must be ready for trial, with prosecutors prepared to proceed or willing to collaborate with the Department of Attorney General, willing and ready witnesses, and, most importantly, a victim wishing to pursue this matter in a court of law.
Local prosecutors can negotiate directly with the U.S. Marshals Service to locate, apprehend, and extradite their eligible offenders.
Nessel said local prosecutors can handle these cases once the defendant is returned to Michigan, or as with Cuyler, her staff handled, took over for the short-staffed Stempien.
The state legislature appropriated the $1 million funding.
State Rep. Angela Witwer said, "The unfortunate reality is extraditing defendants back to Michigan can be a costly endeavor that many local prosecutor's offices simply do not have resources."
Witwer added, "by increasing financial support from the state, survivors of sexual assault can begin to heal when perpetrators are finally brought to justice."
Operation Survivor Justice is a first-in-the-nation partnership and is currently only operational in Michigan.
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The Attorney General and the U.S. Marshals Service hope to set a precedent that could expand these efforts across the nation through similar agreements in other states.
Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Stempien endorses Operation Survivor Justice that benefited Branch County
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