‘Prosecutor failed in his sacred duty’

An Oakland County district judge formally dismissed sexual assault charges against Larry Orr, 71, of Oxford Township and his stepson, Sean MacMaster, 46, of Jacksonville, Florida, on Dec. 4.
The two men had each been charged with two counts of First Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct with a child under the age of 13. The alleged assaults occurred between July 2011 and January 2016, according to warrants issued on May 7.
Michigan’s Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a motion to dismiss the charges without prejudice in Oakland County’s 52-3 District Court in Rochester Hills on Nov. 25.
The decision to drop the charges was the result of a two-month internal investigation into the case’s prosecutor, former state Assistant Attorney General Brian Kolodziej who had an “inappropriate” relationship with a victim of a separate sexual assault case he was also prosecuting.
“I am compelled to dismiss the charges in this case following the information we received regarding Mr. Kolodziej’s prosecutorial conduct, which are tantamount to serious violations of our prosecutorial standards,” Nessel said in a Nov 25. statement.
Kolodziej resigned in September.
Upon learning of the relationship, Nessel immediately launched the investigation into the handling of all of Kolodziej’s cases. The investigation involved interviews with 26 people.
“In the end,” Nessel concluded, “today does not reflect the truthfulness of the victims in these cases but rather the consequences of a prosecutor who failed in his sacred duty to properly administer justice in our legal system.”
Orr’s attorney Shannon Smith said, “The defense is very satisfied with how the Attorney General promptly took action to investigate (Kolodziej), was forthcoming to us, and communicated with us regarding its progress.”
Oakland County Sheriff’s Office investigated the same sexual assault charges against Orr and MacMaster in 2015. The case was not prosecuted at that time due to insufficient evidence.
The Attorney General’s Office picked up the case early this year. On March 9, the Attorney General’s Office and Michigan State Police executed a search warrant at Orr’s home. The AG office indicated it yielded “significant physical evidence consistent with the child victim’s descriptions of the sexual assaults.”
Orr was arrested in May and held in Oakland County Jail for five months in lieu of a $250,000 bond. Had he been convicted, the minimum sentence would have been 25 years.
“Obviously we are pleased with the decision,” Smith said, “but hope that law enforcement will investigate the mother who we believe coached her daughter to make the allegations.”
Smith said she’s not concerned that the charges may still be reinstated in the future.