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Kent Co. Commissioner Fights Personal Protection Order

Posted at 10:41 PM, Nov 08, 2012
and last updated 2013-02-20 12:51:52-05

Kent County Commissioner Gary Rolls appeared in a Muskegon County courtroom Thursday morning.

He’s working to have a personal protection order against him thrown out. The alleged victim filed it back in September, claiming rolls had molested her as a little girl.

“She is very fragile and this has been a, just a very devastating experience for her. Her testimony this morning was heartbreaking,” Daniel Bonner, the victim’s attorney said.

The alleged victim, who’s now 28, says Rolls was a family friend who started touching her inappropriately when she was nine years old.

She claims that escalated to sex, which continued for several years after that. Then there’s claims of verbal and physical abuse, and threats on her life if she ever told anyone anything.

“What`s she been carrying all these years and her credibility. Both the state police detective Denise Bentley and I find her to be extremely credible,” Bonner said.

Back in October, Rolls’ attorney filed to have the PPO thrown out, saying the accusations aren’t true. FOX 17 tried contacting Commissioner Rolls at his home in Ada. It appeared no one was home.

Right now, this is a civil case, but the sState Police is investigating. Bonner says a detective testified Thursday morning about the possibility of criminal charges being filed.

“She anticipates that the Ionia County prosecutor will issue a warrant on charge of what we call criminal sexual conduct in the first degree and criminal sexual conduct in the third degree primarily because of the age of the victim at the time of the alleged act took place,” Bonner explained.

Gary Rolls attorney did not return FOX 17’s call.

FOX 17 will be at day two of the hearing Friday morning.