BURR OAK, MI (WTVB) – An appellate court has granted a new trial to Demetrius Ivory in connection with his 2022 conviction for the sexual abuse of three young children in Burr Oak.
Ivory was originally found guilty by a St. Joseph County Circuit Court jury on 10 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct stemming from a series of late 2018 assaults. Following that swift verdict, he was labeled a pedophile by a visiting circuit judge and sentenced to serve 25 to 45 years in prison.
However, a Michigan appellate court panel overturned that decision after finding that Ivory’s defense counsel committed critical mistakes that undermined confidence in the original trial’s outcome.
According to the appellate ruling, the defense lawyer failed to object to improper testimony and neglected to call a necessary expert witness specializing in child memory, suggestibility, and forensic interviewing.
While the court rejected Ivory’s arguments regarding a lack of overall evidence, the case will now be sent back for a new trial as prosecutors and defense attorneys prepare to present the matter to a brand new St. Joseph County jury.
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