Sexual assault charges against former state trooper dismissed

LANSING - Prosecutors have dismissed sexual assault charges against a former Michigan State Police trooper in a case that goes back more than two years.

Brian Alexander, then 33, was convicted on four counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct after a 2015 trial in Ingham County Circuit Court. But a judge later vacated the convictions and granted him a new trial.

The case went through the appellate courts, and Alexander was awaiting a second trial when the Ingham County Prosecutor's Office dismissed the charges on Sept. 25.

Chief Assistant Ingham County Prosecutor Lisa McCormick said her office reassessed the evidence and decided it would not be able to prove its case in a second trial.

"That's not to say that police didn't do a thorough investigation, but based on all the factors, we determined we could not sustain the burden of proof," McCormick said.

Alexander's attorney, Scott Grabel, said prosecutors made the right call, even if it took them too long. Alexander now lives in Haslett and is trying to get his job back, he said 

"I'm disappointed it took as long as it did to get this case dismissed," Grabel said Wednesday. "(But) I think the prosecutor did the right thing to dismiss it, and I believe he is 100% innocent."

The State Journal does not typically identify reported victims of sexual assault.

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Alexander was charged in 2015 and convicted after a jury trial later that year.

But before he was sentenced, Ingham County Circuit Judge William Collette tossed out the convictions after the defense argued that phone records discovered during the trial and the prosecution's failure to correct false or perjured testimony were grounds for a new trial.

An appeals court panel reversed Collette's order granting a new trial. But last June, the state's highest court sent the case back to Collette. The Supreme Court said the Court of Appeals was correct in finding that Collette didn't use the proper standard in granting a new trial, but that it erred in determining that the new evidence would not justify granting that new trial. It ordered Collette to apply the proper standard to his decision.

Collette conducted another hearing and ordered a new trial in August.

Alexander joined the state police in early January 2014, according to a news release from the agency. The alleged incidents leading to the charges were said to have happened in 2013 but were reported later.

Alexander lost his job with the state police, Grabel said. His 2015 conviction barred him from serving as a law enforcement officer in the state.

Now that the charges have been dismissed, Alexander is trying to get reinstated to his job with the agency, the attorney said.

Contact Ken Palmer at (517) 377-1032 or kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.