Saginaw rabbi used influence as clergyman to coerce, sexually assault woman, police say

Kaley Johnson
·1 min read

A Saginaw rabbi is accused of sexually assaulting a woman inside a synagogue, according to court documents.

Rabbi Mark Aaron Griffin, 47, was indicted on a sexual assault charge in December 2020. A search warrant filed by the Saginaw Police Department on March 31 provided more details into the case.

A woman told police in September 2020 that Griffin sexually assaulted her inside the Sar Shalom synagogue on Bluebonnet Street, according to court documents. Griffin wanted her to be his concubine and used religious texts to try and convince her that she should be his second wife, she said, according to the search warrant. He told her God had given her to him as a gift.

On one occasion, she told him “no,” and he sexually assaulted her, according to the search warrant. The detective on the case wrote in the search warrant that he believed Griffin used his influence as a clergyman to coerce the woman into sex.

The search warrant was filed in order for Saginaw police to swab Griffin’s saliva in order to compare his DNA to that of semen found inside the church. In September, police found evidence of semen on the floor of Griffin’s office and another room inside the synagogue.

On Thursday, police took the DNA sample from Griffin.

The Hoeller McLaughlin PLLC is representing Griffin.

“We believe strongly in the presumption of innocence, and we believe that it absolutely applies in this case,” the firm said in a statement said. “Unfortunately, because it is a pending case, we cannot comment on the facts or circumstances surrounding the case at this time.”

Recommended Stories

  • Harvey Weinstein’s Appeal Slammed by Survivors & Attorneys: ‘The Jury Has Spoken’

    More than a full year after Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape and sexual assault, lawyers for the disgraced former Hollywood honcho — who is currently serving 23 years in New York prison — have filed an appeal, arguing that the judge made errors that resulted in a rigged trial. Weinstein — who was convicted […]

  • Family of UK's Captain Tom call for fundraising celebration

    The family of Britain's Captain Tom Moore, the World War Two veteran who lifted a nation's spirits during the pandemic, are calling for people to come together and raise funds for charity on what would have been his 101st birthday. Moore struck a chord with locked-down Britain, and made headlines around the world, by walking around his garden with the help of a frame to raise 38.9 million pounds ($53 million) for the National Health Service. His death in February drew condolences from Queen Elizabeth, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Joe Biden's White House.

  • Former Nike Executive Pleads Guilty in Criminal Case

    The former marketing manager was terminated by the sneaker giant in 2018.

  • Teen Arrested After Police See Viral Video of Attack on Asian Couple in Washington

    A 15-year-old male in connection with an attack against an elderly Asian couple from last year in Tacoma, WA has recently been arrested. “They had never seen them before, never dealt with them before,” Haddow told CNN.

  • Harvey Weinstein appeals rape conviction, claiming unfair trial

    More than a year after Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction, his lawyers are demanding a new trial, arguing in court papers Monday that the landmark #MeToo prosecution that put him behind bars was buoyed by improper rulings from a judge who was “cavalier” in protecting the disgraced movie mogul’s right to a fair trial.

  • Two-week-old baby boy dies after car hits pram

    A two-week-old baby boy has died after his pram was hit by a car. A BMW is understood to have been involved in a collision with another car in High Street, Brownhills, before striking the baby's pram at around 4pm on Easter Sunday, West Midlands Police said. The baby was being pushed along the pavement by family at the time and suffered serious injuries. Police said he was rushed to hospital but nothing could be done to save him. A relative suffered a shoulder injury but nobody else was injured. Police said the driver left the scene but a 34-year-old man was arrested in Bloxwich shortly afterwards. He has been taken into custody and will be questioned on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. Sergeant Mark Crozier, from the collision investigation unit, said: "A baby has tragically died and we'll be doing all we can to support his family during this deeply devastating time. "We're in the process of speaking to witnesses and establishing the circumstances around this collision. "I would ask anyone who was in the area, and has information which can assist our inquiries, to come forward. "We understand the shock this will have caused but I would ask people not to speculate on what happened." Police said they are particularly keen to hear from anyone who was in the area and may have dashcam footage, either before or at the time of the collision. Anyone with information can contact police via FL-COLLISION-INVEST@west-midlands.pnn.police.uk, via Live Chat or by calling 101.

  • U.S. state officials urge Garland to reverse Trump positions on climate deception cases

    The attorneys general of five U.S. states and the District of Columbia on Monday called on President Joe Biden's Justice Department to withdraw legal briefs filed in support of fossil fuel companies in litigation during the Trump administration, arguing they contradict the new president's position on climate change. The top law enforcement officials of Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland asking him to inform courts that the Justice Department no longer supports those briefs in pending litigation.

  • China is 'trampling on Hong Kong's democracy'

    With Beijing's influence now paramount, many in Hong Kong are torn between defiance and resignation.

  • The Supreme Court sided with Google in its epic copyright fight against Oracle

    The Supreme Court weighed in on Google's long legal battle with Oracle on Monday, overturning a prior victory for the latter company that could have resulted in an $8 billion award. In a 6-2 decision, the court ruled that Google didn't break copyright laws when it incorporated pieces of Oracle's Java software language into its own mobile operating system. Google copied Oracle's code for Java APIs for Android, and the case kicked off a yearslong debate over the reuse of established APIs and copyright.

  • 3-year-old dies after tumbling into campground septic tank, New Jersey officials say

    Officials found the girl unresponsive when they arrived.

  • An Asian woman was stabbed to death in California but police aren't treating the attack as a hate crime

    Ke Chieh Meng, 64, was attacked while walking her dogs in Riverside, California on Saturday. She died in hospital from her injuries.

  • Venezuela doctors and scientists urge COVID-19 vaccination progress as cases spike

    Venezuela's main academies of medicine and science on Monday urged renewed efforts to vaccinate the South American nation's population against the coronavirus amid a spike in infections that has led the government to extend lockdown measures. The pandemic was significantly less severe than expected in Venezuela in 2020 due to widespread gasoline shortages that restricted vehicle movement, the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences said in a joint statement. But Venezuela now faces a "worst case scenario" of limited vaccine availability, combined with an increase in infections following the relaxation of quarantine measures during the Christmas and Carnival holidays, the academies said.

  • UPDATE 2-British PM Johnson to unveil international travel plan amid COVID-19

    British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will unveil a traffic light system to relaunch international travel on Monday, offering hope for airlines and European holiday resorts struggling in the COVID-19 pandemic. Johnson has already announced a staggered plan to ease coronavirus restrictions in the months ahead. Noel Josephides, chairman of travel group Sunvil, said the industry ideally needed a month to prepare.

  • Nigeria army finds five kidnapped students

    Nigerian soldiers have found five of the dozens of students kidnapped last month from their college in the country's northwest, state officials said on Monday.

  • Dad killed in front of daughter during robbery at Marq-E

    Authorities say the 37-year-old dad and his family were at Dave and Buster's, and as he walked with his child to their car, things turned deadly.

  • Faith leaders call for elimination of Senate filibuster

    A coalition of faith leaders and activists on Monday demanded the elimination of the Senate filibuster, wading into a crucial debate in Washington with a 50-50 Senate and President Joe Biden eyeing ambitious legislation on expanding voting rights, stemming gun violence and other proposals that face opposition from Republicans. Led by prominent progressive pastor the Rev. William Barber and other ministers, the group spoke out against the arcane procedural tactic, which enables a single senator to halt action or votes.

  • EXPLAINER: Was officer's knee on Floyd's neck authorized?

    A critical factor for jurors to consider at a former Minneapolis police officer's trial in George Floyd's death is whether he violated the department's policy on neck restraints when he knelt on Floyd's neck. The Minneapolis Police Department banned all forms of neck restraints and chokeholds weeks after Floyd's death, but at the time of his May 25 arrest by Derek Chauvin and other officers, certain neck restraints were permitted — provided certain guidelines and conditions were followed.

  • 'Dennis the Menace' star Gloria Henry dies at 98, one day after her birthday

    Gloria Henry, best known for her role in "Dennis the Menace," has died at age 98. "She's flying now," wrote her daughter on social media.

  • Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker Took Their First Family Ski Trip to Utah

    They also did the "Pass the Phone" TikTok challenge, in which Kourtney called Travis her boyfriend on video.

  • Carolina Panthers’ trade for QB Sam Darnold is so weird that it will actually work

    The Panthers traded three draft picks for New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold on Monday. It was worth it.