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July 15, 2010

Mikko charges dismissed

Prosecutors have 21 days to appeal judge's decision

BY ALEX PIAZZA and ART BUKOWSKI Record-Eagle staff writers

CHARLEVOIX — Former 13th Circuit Court referee Dennis Mikko won't stand trial for explicit images found in his briefcase, e-mail and on his county-issued computer.

Charlevoix Circuit Judge Richard M. Pajtas on Wednesday dismissed a lengthy list of felony charges against Mikko, his attorney said.

"I believe that none of the charges rose to the level that (prosecutors) believed they did," said Mikko's attorney, Craig Elhart. "(Mikko) was ecstatic. He's very pleased that his nearly one year of troubles are done with."

Mikko faced 10 counts of possessing child sexually abusive material and a count of using a computer to commit a crime. His trial was set to begin next month. Prosecutors have 21 days to appeal the judge's decision.

Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Alan Schneider did not return a call for comment.

Mikko was arrested in September and charged with five counts of possessing child sexually abusive material. The original charges stem from photos found in a briefcase underneath Mikko's desk at the Robert P. Griffin Hall of Justice.

The photos were stashed in a paper bag labeled "Misc. young girls," authorities said. He also allegedly had condoms, pornographic materials and a photo collage containing clothed pictures of 10 girls who once were on probation in Grand Traverse County.

Authorities this year added five additional counts of possessing child sexually abusive material and a count of using a computer to commit a crime after Grand Traverse sheriff's deputies performed a forensic investigation on Mikko's computer.

The investigation revealed Mikko's Yahoo e-mail account and a separate folder on his county-issued laptop computer contained images of young, nude females.

Deputies obtained a warrant to search his home and office in August after a tipster told them Mikko engaged in sexual conversations with a person who identified himself as a 14-year-old male on the website MySpace.

"He acknowledged that the activities that he did, although not illegal, might not have been appropriate for his position at the time," Elhart said.

Mikko, from 1997 until his August resignation, handled child custody matters in Grand Traverse, Antrim and Leelanau counties, along with child abuse and juvenile offender cases in Grand Traverse County.

Judge Philip E. Rodgers, Mikko's former boss at 13th Circuit Court, said Mikko won't be back to work there.

"The photographs and materials he had in his possession ... whether or not they rose to the level of a criminal felony, were wholly inappropriate and completely inconsistent" with his duties, Rodgers said. "Whether or not the criminal case is going forward is irrelevant to his resignation."

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