Law

Former leader of Grand Traverse Band found guilty of sex crimes

Monday, April 11, 2016

Derek Bailey. Photo from Facebook

Derek Bailey, a former chairman and former council member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, was found guilty of sex crimes in a second case in Michigan.

Bailey, 43, was convicted of two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, The Traverse City Record-Eagle. The crimes involved a minor victim who was sexually abused in 2012 but she testified that the abuse lasted over a nearly seven-year period, the paper said.

"I think justice was done," Grand Traverse County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Noelle Moeggenberg told the paper. The victim is now 15, the paper said.

Bailey is facing a 25-year mandatory minimum sentence, the paper said. He also was convicted of similar crimes in Leelanau County last November.

Bailey served as chairman of the Grand Traverse Band from 2008 to 2012 and was serving as a council member when he was charged in May 2015. He resigned his post in July of that year

In 2011, Bailey sought the Democratic nomination for Congress but ended up running for a seat in the Michigan Legislature. During that period he rented an apartment in Traverse City where the abuse occurred, the Record-Eagle reported.

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Jurors find Bailey guilty (The Traverse City Record-Eagle 4/8)