MT. CLEMENS (WWJ) - A 29-year-old man has pleaded guilty in an attempted rape last year on the grounds of a Macomb County high school.
Police and prosecutors allege that, at around 8:30 a.m. on September 2, 2018, Douglas Pearson chased down a female jogger while she ran on the track at Chippewa Valley High School 19 Mile Road near Romeo Plank in Clinton Township.
Police said Pearson violently charged his 34-year-old victim, pushing her to the ground where he tried to sexually assault her. When the woman fought back, police said, Pearson ran to a car in the parking lot and sped away.
Upon further investigation, the State of Michigan Crime Lab used DNA from a cigarette dropped by the attacker, and collected by the Clinton Township Police, to identify Pearson.
He was arrested in April of this years and charged with counts of Criminal Sexual Conduct Second Degree, 15-year felonies; one count of Assault with Intent to Commit Sexual Penetration, a 10-year felony; and Interfering with a Crime Report, a one-year misdemeanor.
On Tuesday, Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Faunce agreed to an agreement with the defense that if Pearson pleased guilty as charged to all four counts charged by the prosecutor, Faunce would sentence him to 84 months in prison.
According to Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith, the victim was satisfied with that sentencing agreement, although she ramains deeply shaken by what happened.
"She was worried how long it would take her to feel safe to be out jogging again." Smith told WWJ's Sandra McNeill. "...How long's it going to take for her to be comfortable in her own skin to be out jogging?"
Smith thanks Clinton Township police for their diligent efforts in this case.
"The citizens of Macomb County can rest easier with this monster locked-up in prison and off the street for at least the next seven years," Smith said. “While we are grateful for the defendant taking accountability and pleading guilty to all counts, it does not negate the extremely troubling acts he committed, in broad daylight, in the middle of a popular high school track."
Smith said Pearson faces separate charges in an alleged case of indecent exposure.