Traverse City Record-Eagle

Grand Traverse County

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September 23, 2009

Ex-referee is charged for nude photos

BY ART BUKOWSKI

TRAVERSE CITY -- Authorities charged former 13th Circuit Court family division referee Dennis P. Mikko with possessing sexually abusive materials involving children.

Mikko, 53, faces five felony counts after investigators who searched his office last month allegedly found pictures of nude, underage girls in a briefcase under his courthouse desk.

But Grand Traverse Prosecutor Alan Schneider said it doesn't appear Mikko, who as family court referee presided over child abuse and neglect cases, had any inappropriate contact with local children through his court position.

"Based upon the investigation thus far, which I think is pretty well complete ... there certainly doesn't appear to be any inappropriate direct contact with any of those individuals," he said.

Mikko was expected to surrender to authorities for arraignment today. He did not return a call for comment. His attorney, Craig Elhart of Traverse City, declined comment.

Since 1997, Mikko presided over child abuse and neglect cases, juvenile offender matters and child-related issues in domestic relations cases in Grand Traverse, Leelanau and Antrim counties.

He was placed on paid leave Aug. 14, when his superiors discovered he was a subject of an ongoing criminal investigation by the Grand Traverse Sheriff's Department, and he resigned Aug. 21.

Michigan State Police received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an adult male was "corresponding with a minor regarding sexually explicit activities," according to court documents.

Mikko allegedly engaged in sexually charged conversations with a self-described male teen on the social network site MySpace, Schneider said. Investigators aren't sure if the individual truly was a teen, Schneider said, and the alleged conversations didn't involve a request to meet.

"There was no direct solicitation of any inappropriate act," Schneider said.

Authorities obtained a search warrant and allegedly traced one end of the conversations back to Mikko. They searched his home and office and allegedly found several pictures of girls that appeared to be ages 11 to 15 in a briefcase under his desk in the Robert P. Griffin Hall of Justice.

"They appeared to be out of some type of magazine," Schneider said.

Officials continue to process Mikko's belongings to determine if they contained inappropriate materials in digital form, Schneider said. They took a laptop computer, several external drives and the briefcase during an Aug. 14 search of his office.

Probate Judge David Stowe said he was unaware of the charges.

"Other than your call, honestly, I don't know anything about this case," he said.

The allegations are troubling, Stowe said.

"I hope it's not true. That's all I can say," he said.

Thirteenth Circuit Court Chief Judge Philip E. Rodgers couldn't be reached for comment.

Court officials hired local attorney Kirsten L. Keilitz to replace Mikko.

Mikko also worked as a paramedic for more than 10 years at North Flight EMS, a medical transport subsidiary of Munson Health Care. He was placed on unpaid suspension as soon as hospital officials learned of his pending criminal case, said Munson spokeswoman Barb Gordon-Kessel.

"We've never had any complaints," Gordon-Kessel said. "During those 10 years he's been an excellent employee, but we need to take this type of thing seriously."

Record-Eagle writer Sheri McWhirter contributed to this report.

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