Convicted sex offender gets rare Supreme Court hearing

12-9-2011 Michigan:

Pontiac — A retired Chrysler engineer who has spent five years in prison for a sex crime he says he did not commit is going to get a rare hearing before the Michigan Supreme Court.

Jacob Trakhtenberg, 74, formerly of Oakland Township, has been in prison since February 2006 after being convicted of sexually assaulting a 7-year-old relative. Trakhtenberg, who adamantly denies he assaulted the girl, was sentenced to four to 15 years in prison by former Oakland Circuit Judge Debra Tyner. That followed a 45-minute bench trial in which his court-appointed attorney, Deborah McKelvey, called just one witness — Trakhtenberg — in his defense, according to his new attorney, James O. Elliott, who teamed up with veteran defense attorney Robyn Frankel on the appeal.

McKelvey never asked one question in cross-examination of Trakhtenberg's ex-wife, Liliya, who filed the criminal complaint against him and was the main witness against him, Elliott said.

"He could have been released from prison over a year ago but in Michigan, to get an early release of a sex crime conviction, you have to admit your involvement," Elliott said. "He refuses to do that, so at 74 years of age he stays in prison. He said he came to America to be free, and to him (that) means you don't admit to something you haven't done — even if it costs you your freedom."

Trakhtenberg, who immigrated to the United States from Russia in 1974 with $15 in his pocket, became a successful engineer with Chrysler and once owned a $1.5 million home and lakefront properties in Oakland County.

The Michigan Supreme Court only chooses to hear a handful of more than 2,000 requests it gets every year, so to even be considered for a hearing is "significant," Elliott said.

Elliott has until Feb. 1, 2012, to file an appeal and he's hoping for a hearing in the spring term.

McKelvey has not returned telephone calls on the issue.

This is the second time the matter has found its way to the Supreme Court.

An earlier appeal was sent down to Oakland Circuit Judge Daniel O'Brien, who held a trial without jury and found Trakhtenberg had ineffective counsel in the first trial and was entitled to a new trial and even set a date. The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled against O'Brien's decision, prompting a second appeal to the Supreme Court. ..Source.. by Mike Martindale / The Detroit News