(WXYZ) — He’s been on the run for five decades. In 1976, Dyer Grossman was charged with sex crimes in Michigan, but skipped town before police could lock him up. Now the 7 Investigators have learned that prosecutors and police have recently been working to bring the key suspect in a pedophile ring to justice, but his survivors say they're tired of waiting to learn Grossman's fate.
Grossman is now 85. Court records obtained by the 7 Investigators show prosecutors and federal agents are still actively investigating Grossman and appear to be trying to bring him back to Michigan to face those sexual assault charges from St. Clair County. A Michigan State Police public information officer told 7 Investigator Heather Catallo that Grossman's warrants are active, and that law enforcement is actively searching for him.
Watch Heather Catallo's video report below:
Grossman’s name has been linked with the North Fox Island Pedophile Ring for years, and detectives also want him questioned in the Oakland County Child Killer case.
Between 1976 and 1977 four children were abducted from the Woodward corridor and later murdered. Their killer or killers have not been arrested.
“Don't think for a minute they're not all intertwined and knew each other,” said retired Livonia Det. Sgt. Cory Williams, who spent years on the Oakland County Child Killer task force.
Police say Grossman is believed to have been living overseas for years, most recently in the Netherlands according to law enforcement. And now the men who say they were raped by Grossman and other suspects want justice.
“This changed my life forever,” said Bill Johnson.
“I'm very angry, very angry inside about it,” said Michael Farquhar.
RELATED VIDEO: North Fox Island memorial honors survivors of decades-old abuse ring
According to court records, in 1975 Grossman was accused of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy inside a motel in Port Huron. The 13-year-old was Farquhar, who’s now 65.
“I met Dyer Grossman at the Howard Johnson's motel in Port Huron, and I was sexually assaulted by him there,” Farquhar told Catallo.
Farquhar says he survived years of sexual abuse and was forced to be the subject of child pornography.
“We would go to different hotels around the Detroit area and meet up with different children for filming and to have immoral acts with the adults that were involved,” said Farquhar.
You can see the full timeline of the Oakland County Child Killer investigation below
According to police records obtained by the 7 Investigators, in 1975 Grossman was 34 and a teacher at a private school in New York state.
Court records show Grossman had been invited to Michigan to help Gerald Richards and Francis Shelden establish the charter for an alleged charity: Brother Paul’s Children’s Mission boys camp on North Fox Island.
Shelden, a millionaire originally from Gross Pointe, owned the island off the coast of Charlevoix that was only accessible by plane. Police say the boy’s camp was just a front for a massive child pornography and pedophile ring.
“It was an ugly underworld network that they had,” said Williams. “Unbelievable how extensive. The more pedophiles in these rings we identified, the bigger it got.”
He’s now retired, but for 20 years, Det. Sgt. Williams lived and breathed the Oakland County Child Killer case.
“We took deep dives into many suspects, including North Fox Island,” said Williams.
RELATED VIDEO: Oakland County Child Killings: 50 years later, could new tech help crack case?
Farquhar, Williams and the 7 Investigators all helped with the 2018 production called Children of the Snow, a documentary that featured both the Oakland County Child Killer murders and the North Fox Island pornography ring.
“The plane would come and go. And there were other kids on the island, several different men on the island. And back then they had the old tripods and the giant cameras and those were all over the place,” Johnson told Catallo. “When I was being abused, they were taking either pictures or film.”
Bill Johnson says Richards, a Catholic school gym teacher, and Shelden fooled parents in Port Huron into thinking their kids had won a trip to a camp for boys. Instead, Johnson says, on North Fox Island, he was sexually assaulted by both Richards and Shelden, as well as their friend, Dyer Grossman.
“I was in the room with all three of the men in the main cabin, and that's when the abuse started,” said Johnson, describing being raped by all three men. “All of them, Dyer Grossman included… What happened to me there - that little boy never came back. The little boy's still on that island.”
Williams says Grossman came from a wealthy Long Island family.
“He was known to have started a foundation in New Jersey that was a front for child molestation and exploitation called the Church of the New Revelation,” said Williams.
Williams says Grossman then fled to California, Washington state, and eventually Europe. Court records show, U.S. authorities have determined that Grossman is known to have used several aliases, including Eliza Dyer Grossman, Elisha Grossman, Elliot Grossman, Michael Grossman, Michael Ross, Dale Osterman, and Dale Quam.
Police say Francis Shelden also skipped town, avoiding arrest.
“He flees the country, never to be seen again, dies in the Netherlands,” said Williams.
Only Gerald Richards was arrested, sent to prison, and later died in Port Huron.
Williams says he and other detectives connected the North Fox Island pedophiles with others who have emerged over the years as possible suspects in the Oakland County murders, including Christopher Busch and Ted Lamborgine.
And now new court records uncovered by the 7 Investigators reveal that prosecutors in St. Clair County have been trying to extradite Grossman since 2018. In a motion to seal the case file in August, prosecutors wrote, “The warrant remains active, and Defendant [Grossman] is subject to continuing investigative efforts by law enforcement, including the Michigan State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
In early August, FBI Director Kash Patel released a video that showed him standing in front of a wanted poster in Detroit featuring Grossman.
Jordan Hall, Chief Spokesman for FBI Detroit, told the 7 Investigators in a statement:
“The graphic was prepared as part of our routine planning process for potential future communications. We routinely prepare materials in advance so we’re ready if and when they are needed. The appearance of that graphic should not be interpreted as confirmation of any future law enforcement action.
Consistent with FBI policy, I am not able to comment on the specific questions you’ve outlined or discuss potential investigative or prosecutorial matters. If and when there are developments that can be shared publicly, we will do so through the appropriate channels.”
But Farquhar says he and the other survivors were told by federal agents and the state police that there has been a lot of law enforcement action taking place recently.
“We know Dyer Grossman is alive. That was confirmed… A young man came forward to the FBI saying, ‘hey, I've seen Children of the Snow, and Dyer Grossman is the guy that was abusing me,’” said Farquhar.
Farquhar says he’s been working with the FBI and state police for years, trying to get justice. He says he'd been told for many months that an arrest was imminent, and has now written letters to state and federal officials demanding answers about where the investigation stands.
“I've been keeping quiet for a little over two years now -- going on two and a half years and not saying nothing about Dyer Grossman, not saying anything about this extradition… because people want to know what's really going on,” said Farquhar. “And because of that picture [from FBI Director Patel], I don't feel I need to keep it quiet anymore.”
“The reason why I'm going public now is because it's the time to end this,” said Johnson. “Bring Grossman back here where it started. And let him face justice.”
If you have a story for Heather Catallo please email her at hcatallo@wxyz.com