An Ecorse man, 30-year-old Aaron Tyrell Qualls, was arraigned on Thursday April 4 on a charge of first-degree criminal sexual conduct after he allegedly raped a woman in July of 2012. Qualls was arraigned via video conferencing by Magistrate David Dinkleman in Hillsdale County District Court.
According to a news article at Hillsdale.net, Qualls and the alleged victim were being driven around by an Osseo man, James Carver. While the woman admitted that she was intoxicated at the time, she insisted that she did not want to engage in sexual relations with Qualls, and that he raped her in the vehicle as they were being driven around by Carver. Qualls has denied her accusations to authorities.
Carver was arrested in 2012 for aiding and abetting Qualls; however in October those charges were dropped because of a lack of evidence. An arrest warrant was issued for Qualls by Prosecutor Neal Brady in October of 2012, but he was not arrested until last week on April 3.
Due to a prior criminal record involving felony firearms, flight risk, and the seriousness of the offense he is accused of committing, Qualls was denied bond and remains in the Hillsdale County Jail. He admitted that he was aware there was a warrant for his arrest, however he did not turn himself in to authorities. Qualls next court date is set for April 17 at 9 a.m.
As experienced Michigan sex crime attorneys, we are very familiar with circumstances like these in which an alleged victim was intoxicated and later claims he or she was violated. While it may be absolutely true, there are many times when a victim cries rape after the fact, even though he/she may have been a willing participant at the time the alleged offense actually took place.
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