Attorney facing sex charges to have entrapment hearing

An attorney accused of attempting to solicit sex from a client's wife will have a hearing to determine if entrapment occurred during the investigation of his case.

Timothy Gladney, a Pinckney resident with a practice in Harrisville, has been charged with one count of offer to engage a female for purpose of prostitution and one count of solicit, accost or invite a female to commit prostitution or immoral act. Both counts carry a sentence of 93 days in jail/and or $500 fine.

During a pretrial hearing in the 81st Court in Harrisville Wednesday morning, District Court Judge Allen Yenior said he and Gladney's attorney, Dan White, had a conference call with Gary Rapp, Iosco County prosecuting attorney who was appointed by the Michigan Attorney General's Office to handle the case. Because Rapp wasn't available to appear in court Wednesday, Yenior agreed to schedule all motions on Sept. 23 at 3:30 p.m. in the 81st District Court in Iosco County.

White said the court granted two motions he filed. One motion was to schedule the entrapment hearing while the other is asking for further clarification of what words or conduct on the part of Gladney are supposed to have caused the alleged crime. Both matters will be brought up during the Sept. 23 court date.

"An entrapment hearing is a hearing where the court reviews the conduct of the police ... their tactics, to determine whether the conduct was appropriate or whether it was manufacturing a crime," he said. "When a defendant asks for an entrapment hearing, he, like Mr. Gladney, is not saying he's guilty of anything. It's a separate matter that can be heard by the judge."

White said he believed the facts of the case demanded a hearing to see if there was entrapment.

"The law does not permit the police or others working with the police to create a crime in the sense of inducing a crime where otherwise one would not have been committed," he said.

Gladney's charges stem from an investigation that was opened in 2007 when a woman filed a complaint with the Michigan State Police. The woman alleged that since September 2007, Gladney had been representing her husband on a criminal matter as a court appointed attorney.

The woman said during this representation of her husband, Gladney would allegedly often make comments to her outside the presence of her husband that made her believe Gladney was soliciting her for sex in exchange for either a monetary reward or better legal representation. Based on the allegations, several undercover contacts were made between Gladney and the woman that were monitored by law enforcement.

White said Gladney's case has gained a lot of attention though he has been charged with misdemeanor counts.

"We hope, on the behalf of the defense, that Mr. Gladney is treated like any citizen would be," he said. "We look forward to facing his accuser in open court and ultimately the case would be decided not by innuendo but upon the facts."

Patty Ramus can be reached via e-mail at pramus@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5687.