17-Year-Old Indicted On Rape, Robbery Charges In Cleveland

CLEVELAND — Michael Hutchins, 17, has been indicted on charges of rape and robbery, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley announced Monday.

“This juvenile has continuously ignored numerous rehabilitation opportunities. He is a danger to every person whose path he crosses and needs to be incarcerated for a long, long time,” said O’Malley. “I pray that these victims have the strength and support to continue to move forward after these horrific events.”

According to the indictments, Hutchins broke out of the Cleveland Christian Home when staffers tried to transport him to the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Center on October 9, 2018.

Less than a month later, the indictments said, Hutchins stole a laptop from a 53-year-old woman on Cleveland State University's campus. He reportedly sneaked into the Wolstein Center with a group of students, got into a staffer's office, stole the laptop and then fled.

The indictments said Hutchins committed three crimes in one day, Feb. 14, 2019. According to the court documents and O'Malley's office, Hutchins ran up behind a woman at the 5th Street Arcade in Cleveland, reached into her purse and stole her cell phone. The woman and a witness to the theft chased after him. As Hutchins was running, he threw the cell phone on the ground.

According to O'Malley's office, two hours after that incident, Hutchins walked into a gym on Prospect Avenue, across from the Arcade, and stole car keys from a man working out.

A short time after that, O'Malley's office said, Hutchins sexually assaulted a 51-year-old woman in a nearby parking garage. The woman was walking to her car after work and got into the same elevator as Hutchins. When the woman stepped out of the elevator, Hutchins attacked her, O'Malley's office said.

When the woman tried to get away, Hutchins threatened to shoot the woman and then sexually assaulted her, according to the prosecutor's office. The woman continued to try and escape, but Hutchins dragged her back into her car, O'Malley's office said.

Hutchins then got into the woman's car and tried to drive away, but he hit a wall in the parking garage, the prosecutors said. He then stole the woman's cell phone, credit card and cash, and threatened to kill her if she called the police, prosecutors added.

Hutchins was taken into custody on Feb. 19. The Cleveland Police Sex Crimes Unit and Cleveland State Police Department led the investigation.

Hutchins was bound over from Juvenile Court on May 3. He is being held on a $.135 million bond. If he is convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison.