SAGINAW, MI — A Saginaw man accused by prosecutors of sexually assaulting a mentally handicapped woman earlier this year will stand trial on three felony charges.
Saginaw County District Judge M.T. Thompson on Dec. 19 concluded Derrick Conway's preliminary hearing by ruling that probable cause existed for him to stand trial in Circuit Court.
Conway, 50, is charged in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a woman in her early 20s from April to June in Saginaw.
Prosecutors initially charged him with five counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct based on allegations that Conway used force or coercion and/or caused personal injury and/or sexually assaulted the woman while she was “physically helpless or mentally incapacitated or mentally incapable.”
Prior to the conclusion of Conway's hearing, prosecutors dropped three of those charges. Thompson then bound Conway over for trial on the three remaining charges.
First-degree criminal sexual conduct, the most serious of sexual offenses, involves penetration and carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Conway's hearing came 10 days after Thompson relied on a report from the Center for Forensic Psychiatry to rule that Conway is mentally competent.
Conway remains jailed on a $500,000 bond.
— Andy Hoag covers courts for MLive/The Saginaw News. Email him at ahoag@mlive.com or f
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