ANN ARBOR (WXYZ) — "He poses a danger to the community. He clearly has an interest in minor children and he can't curtail his desires or behaviors," said Assistant Washtenaw County Prosecutor Grace Broughton about 74-year-old Michael Patrick Kelley.
Kelley was recently arraigned on three counts of Child Sexually Abusive Activity, commonly called child pornography.
The case stems from an incident in March when a probation officer reportedly conducted an unannounced visit at Kelley's home in Ann Arbor and found child pornographic materials.
Due to some of his medical issues, Kelley was not immediately taken into custody but a warrant was later issued for his arrest.
And, Saturday night, when Ann Arbor Police went to arrest Kelley, officers said they could see Kelley, through a window, allegedly trying to destroy some evidence.
He was taken into custody on the outstanding warrant and he's expected to face new charges based on what police said they found at his home this time.
Police said Kelley had pictures of children's faces that appeared to have been cut from a magazine pasted onto adult pornographic images including genitalia.
"He has multiple reports matching his description being called out as somebody whose behavior needs to be curtailed," Broughton said at Kelley's latest arraignment. "He is a danger to the children of this community. For all those reasons, Your Honor, we would be requesting remand, no bond."
At his arraignment, Kelley claimed he was not understanding the legal rights that Magistrate Tamara Garwood was laying out because he has a poor memory. Yet, Kelley was able to detail a long list of what he said are medical issues that should warrant him being kept out of jail.
"So, you can't remember what I said a minute ago, but you can remember all the details of your medical situations?" Magistrate Garwood asked.
Kelley responded, "Well, because I've been living with it for a more than a year so I've got that knowledge."
WATCH THE FULL ARRAIGNMENT BELOW:
Michael Patrick Kelley is no stranger to being on the wrong side of the law. In addition to what's expected to be his third pending child porn case, Kelley is a registered sex offender.
In a 2018 case, Kelley pled no contest to Child Sexually Abusive Material - Possession. At the same time, several other similar charges were dismissed.
He was sentenced in 2020, but, according to court records, before that probation period was over, Kelley would be facing a judge again for new charges, including Aggravated Possession of Child Sexually Abusive Material.
When discussing bond during his arraignment this week for what was allegedly found at his home in March, Kelley described how he's helped pay for children in other countries to get an education.
"It's a false accusation that I'm a danger to children," he told the court.
A number of times, Magistrate Garwood attempted to get Kelley to remain silent, reminding him that anything he says can be used against him.
But after Garwood set his bond at $5 million, Kelley asked, "Why the $5 million? All I had was a few pictures in my apartment. Why such a bond?"
At that point, Kelley's public defender and the magistrate could be seen gasping.
Magistrate Garwood, again, tries to get Kelley to keep quiet at the same time another person could be overheard saying, "Did you hear what he just said?"
Magistrate Garwood told Kelley, "You may have just made a very large concession on the record."
Kelley is expected to be arraigned soon on a new set of charges.
7 Action News reached his defense attorneys who declined to comment.
