Police are continuing to investigate how a registered sex offender and
former Brandon Township resident
gained guardianship of a mentally incapacitated
man, who he then allegedly
sexually abused for the next two
years until the abuse was reported.
‘We have a major
league concern with
what we have found
so far,? said Oakland
County Sheriff’s Office
Undersheriff
Michael McCabe.
‘We are going
through the court
records trying to determine
how this could
have happened. How
does a registered sex offender become
guardian-ad-litem??
Duane Kuerbitz, 49, was arraigned
on one charge of criminal sexual conduct
first degree and one charge of
criminal sexual conduct third degree
on April 1 by 52-2 District Court
Judge Joseph Fabrizio. A preliminary
examination has been scheduled for
1:30 p.m., April 27 in front of Fabrizio.
Kuerbitz remains in the Oakland
County Jail.
According to police reports, on
June 1, 2007, Kuerbitz filed for guardianship
of the victim, who has been a
ward of the state since he was 4-
years-old. Kuerbitz was a neighbor
of the victim when he lived in Pontiac
with another guardian.
Wayne County Probate Court
Judge Martin T. Maher granted
guardianship of the victim to sexual acts, including sodomy.
Police transported the victim to Pontiac Osteopathic
Hospital for an evaluation and rape kit. In a subsequent
police interview with both Kuerbitz and the victim, Kuerbitz
admitted to having sex with the victim since the first time
they had met in Pontiac, but said it was consensual. He
added that the victim would seduce him when he didn’t
get his way or get what he wanted.
The victim had reported the abuse in 2008 and was
interviewed by Adult Protective Services, but the case was
closed after the victim said the allegations weren’t true.
However, it was later found that Kuerbitz was present
during the victim’s interview.
On March 24, after several months of investigation by
police and prosecutors, Dr. Charles Clark, a board certified
forensic psychologist, conducted a mental evaluation
on the victim, who was determined to be not mentally capable
of consenting to sex as indicated by Kuerbitz and
has mental retardation as it is legally defined.
Kuerbitz was arrested March 31 at his residence in
Bay City by the Fugitive Apprehension Team.
McCabe notes that judges are held accountable by the
people who elect them, but the Judicial Tenure Commission
also oversees judges. A complaint has not yet been
filed against Maher, McCabe said.
‘We’re looking further into this and we want some answers,?
he said. ‘We haven’t had a chance to review the
entire file, but on the surface, it looks bad, horrendous.?
A call requesting comment from Maher had not been
returned at presstime.
Kuerbitz, even though police say both
the judge and the victim’s former
guardian-ad-litem were aware that
Kuerbitz was a registered sex offender.
The Michigan Sex Offender Registry
records show that Kuerbitz has
two convictions for criminal sexual
conduct first degree from 1991 in
Waterford. His victim was under 13.
On July 25, 2009, Brandon Township
deputies responded to Allen and
Seymour Lake roads on a welfare
check and upon arrival, made contact
with the 31-year-old victim, who said
he’d been abused by Kuerbitz since
Kuerbitz became his guardian in 2007.
The most recent assault occurred two
days prior.
Kuerbitz and the victim had been living
in a home in the 400 block of W.
Seymour Lake Road since 2008. The victim
described crimes committed against
him by Kuerbitz that included forced