Accused Serial Rapist Held Victim Down As Others Assaulted Her: Prosecutor

DETROIT, MI — An alleged Port Huron, Michigan, serial rapist met his first victim, a lesbian, at a Detroit homeless shelter in April 2010, took her to an abandoned house to drink and smoke, raped her and then helped hold her down as other men at the party took turns raping her, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a news release Thursday. The man, Anthony Thornton, 46, faces multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct and unlawful imprisonment charges filed earlier this week in Detroit's 36th District Court.

Nearly a year later, in March 2011, Thornton raped another woman at a Detroit residence after she had been invited there by a friend, Worthy alleged. The friend wasn’t there, and Thornton is accused of overpowering and raping her multiple times, stopping only when he heard someone at the door, giving the victim a chance to break free and report the crime.

Thornton was charged in the two cases with three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, one count of kidnapping and two counts of unlawful imprisonment, Worthy said. First-degree criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping are felonies punishable by up to life in prison. Second-degree criminal sexual conduct and unlawful imprisonment are felonies punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Thornton will be prosecuted by Special Prosecutor Jaime Powell Horowitz of the Fair Michigan Justice Project. A collaboration between the Prosecutor’s Office and Fair Michigan Foundation Inc., the FMJP assists Michigan law enforcement officers and prosecutors in solving serious crimes against lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender persons.

The charges against Thornton come as prosecutors work to clear untested sexual assault kits, including 11,000 forgotten rape kits found abandoned in a Detroit police warehouse in 2009. Fair Michigan President Dana Nessel said the two cases “illustrate the tragedy of Michigan’s failure to quickly process thousands of rape kits in Detroit,” as well as Worthy’s unrelenting campaign to hold rapists and other sex criminals accountable.

“An accused serial rapist evaded justice for years, and the victims’ demands for justice were unaddressed,” Nessel said in the news release. “The Fair Michigan Justice Project, in association with the Prosecutor’s Office and the Detroit Police, is proud to take up these cold cases and finally deliver justice to the women and LGBT individuals who were victimized.”

Thornton was arraigned Tuesday in 36th District Court, where bond was set at $100,000 cash. His preliminary examination is scheduled for Feb. 7 before 36th District Cout Judge Shannon A. Holmes.

Photo via Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office