A series of parties in Alpena in the summer of 2016 may have done just that to several young men and women who were alleged to have been involved in sexual assaults.

The parties took place in July 2016 at an Alpena home while the owners of the home were out of town. Their son invited friends from school to the house, where heavy drinking and drug use allegedly took place. The inebriated teens allegedly engaged in sex, which two girls say happened while they were passed out and immobilized.

The girls say they also believe they were intentionally drugged before the assaults took place.

The court cases and details related to the incidents have divided the public and sparked protests in downtown Alpena when one of the men accused of assault received a sentence that some believed was too light.

Nick Skaluba

Beginning May 13, the eyes of the community will be focused once again on the case as the second man heads to trial on several criminal sexual conduct charges and charges related to allegations he drugged the girls.

Alpena County Prosecutor Ed Black declined to comment for this story, citing the pending case.

‘HERE TO SEND A MESSAGE’

After a lengthy investigation that included interviews with dozens of people, warrants were issued on June 27, 2017, nearly a year after the alleged assaults, for two Alpena teens, Nick Skaluba and Tommy Hein.

Hein was arrested and charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct, gross indecency between a male and a female, and indecent exposure. The gross indecency charge was dropped, but prosecutors added a charge of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct involving an incapacitated victim.

In October, Hein pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of felonious assault. A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but is treated as such for sentencing purposes.

He was sentenced under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, which allows people between the ages of 17 and 21 to have convictions removed from their record if they successfully complete the terms of their sentence. Those sentenced under HYTA do not have to register as a sexual offender. Hein received 90 days in jail, to be served on weekends and breaks from college, and three years of probation.

Judge George Mertz of the 46th Circuit Court, who took on the case when 26th Circuit Court Judge Michael Mack recused himself without giving a reason, granted Hein HYTA status despite a plea from Black not to do so.

After Hein’s sentencing, and with the Skaluba case moving slowly through the system, the cases became fodder around watercoolers and on social media in Alpena. Positions on the incident, charges, and sentencing varied.

Some who thought the HYTA sentence was too light orchestrated a march and rally to protest Mertz’s decision. It was arranged via Facebook and about 100 people attended the march at Culligan Plaza in downtown Alpena with signs in tow to show their displeasure with the local court’s decision, though it was an out-of-town judge who had levied the sentence.

What started out as a local story also grew and several out-of-the-area media outlets began covering the alleged assaults.

March organizers Brittany Szatkowski and Brett Heise said the rally was meant not only for participants to express frustrations with Hein’s sentence, but also to let the local justice system know they believed harsher sentences were needed for those found guilty of sex crimes.

“We are here to send a message,” Szatkowski told that October crowd. “We are here to stand with survivors of sexual assault. We are here to publicly open the conversation that most people would rather we keep private. We are here to say ‘no more’… This community, these people here, will not tolerate not only sexual assault, but the leniency towards it any longer.”

‘THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE’

Skaluba, who was arrested in North Carolina and extradited back to Alpena, was charged with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and two counts of delivery of a controlled substance with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct. His trial is expected to start May 13 if a jury can be seated that same morning. Besides the two women from the party, a third alleged victim came forward claiming she was also assaulted by Skaluba.

Mertz ruled that the third victim would be allowed to testify because some of her recollections are similar to the girls from the party.

The News does not name victims of alleged sexual assault.

Convicting Skaluba of drugging the girls could be a chore for Black, the county prosecutor. Testimony from the preliminary examination in district court in fall 2017 revealed investigators found no Xanax or Adderal, the drugs allegedly used to incapacitate the alleged victims, found in the girls’ systems or in the home where the parties took place. None of the witnesses thus far have testified that they saw Skaluba put drugs into the girls’ drinks.

Defense attorney Dan White questioned whether there were ever any drugs in the drinks.

“There was no evidence of any nature that shows that my client put anything into any drink,” White said during the preliminary exam. “There was no talk about the drinks looking funny, smelling funny, or tasting funny. There was nothing. There was also no evidence obtained after the fact.”

Despite White’s insistence that there was not enough evidence to bind his client over to circuit court, Montmorency County District Court Judge Benjamin Bolser denied White’s motion to drop all charges against Skaluba and determined there was enough evidence to move Skaluba’s case forward in the higher court.

As the trial approaches, both the prosecution and defense share concerns that seating an impartial jury could be difficult because of the attention the case has received. Jury selection will begin May 13.

Where the cards fall at the end is anybody’s guess, but Alpena residents are watching eagerly to see what transpires. If the trial doesn’t go as some believe it should, more rallies could be on the horizon.

“We must do and demand better, and we can do more as a community, as well,” Szatkowski told The News in a recent interview. “What I organized in October, with the most amazing support of our community, was not a protest. It was more of a support gathering for all victims of sexual abuse and assault. By showing up to the demonstration, we let Alpena know that this is the begining of change, and that we are not powerless . It was a demonstration to show everyone in Alpena that we won’t remain quiet, anymore.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpeanews.com.