LANSING, MI (WTVB) – Branch County Prosecutor Zach Stempien was part of a press conference on Wednesday as Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced the launch of Operation Survivor Justice.
The initiative is a partnership between the Michigan Attorney General’s Office, local County Prosecutors and the U.S. Marshals Service. It will work to locate, apprehend, and return to Michigan fugitive offenders with outstanding sexual assault warrants.
The Operation is being funded by a $1 million appropriation from the Legislature, included in the department’s latest budget signed into law this summer.
Under Operation Survivor Justice, the U.S. Marshals Service will work with the Department of Attorney General and local prosecutors to track down and take into custody criminal defendants across the continental U.S. at a significant cost reduction compared to private extradition services.
Nessel said Operation Survivor Justice will make a difference. She added “It will touch the lives of victims, and those who never become one, because we were able to take this decisive strike, with our new partners in this effort to secure justice for as many sexual survivors as possible.”
Nessel’s office has already partnered with the Branch County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Marshals Service to apprehend and prosecute defendants under the Operation Survivor Justice framework.
46-year-old Anthony Cuyler was brought back from Mexico in June to face 2019 charges in connection with multiple alleged criminal incidents.
Stempien says, “The Branch County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office would like to thank the Attorney General’s Office and U.S. Marshals for their assistance and for the launch of Operation Survivor Justice. This operation has thus far provided for the apprehension and prosecution of multiple alleged criminal sexual conduct cases. Without the assistance of the Attorney General’s Office and U.S. Marshals, the defendants may still be fugitives at large. The Branch County community and victims of each respective case are thankful that numerous governmental unities could come together to seek justice for the alleged crimes.”
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