A 23-year old Alpena man who is charged with rape, kidnapping and other charges is going to have to wait until tomorrow to see if his case will be bound over to 26th Circuit Court.

Jeremiah McLean is accused of raping a 15-year old girl in a makeshift cabin behind the Evergreen Cemetery in Alpena.

His preliminary examination began Tuesday in 88th District Court.

The alleged victim claims McLean also tied her hands to a tree and forced her to have sex with him, as well as in the cabin that police say was made of logs and branches from what it believes were trees in the vicinity.

The alleged incident occurred on June 19, but the two had met previously at a local hardware store and started to communicate on Snapchat, a social media application where texts and photos are deleted seconds after they are received.

After chatting, the two agreed to meet at the Duck Park in Alpena about a week before the sexual assault, where the girl admitted she had intercourse with him on Island Park. She said she consented to sex, because she believed it would improve her chances to have a serious relationship with him.

She said after being ignored on and off, she did not want to have sex with him when they spent time together in the woods behind the cemetery. She said during that time, he began to behave aggressively and lashed out by doing things such as dunking her head and face into the river and tying her to the tree.

During the incident, the victim’s mother had called, and demanded to know where her daughter was, but the girl lied to her mother for what she claims was out of fear of further abuse.

“All I could think about is if I tried to get away, I could get hurt worse,” she said. “My mom was freaking out and threatened to call the police.”

Soon after the call, the victim was allowed to leave and walked to her sister’s house when her mother found her.

The girl was taken to MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena where a series of tests were done and wounds treated. That is where Alpena Police Officer Lincoln Suszek conducted his first interview with the victim.

Suszek said during his testimony that the victim told him what had transpired and what he may be able to find. She told him there would be a Hamms beer can and a used condom that was tossed under a log.

Both items were found at the scene, as was the cabin, which he said was sturdily built and about 7′ by 7′ in size. With a six-foot ceiling. Suszek said there was also a black rope hanging in a tree, but it was not seized because it was not revealed to him during his initial interview with the victim that it was used.

When police returned to the scene days later, the rope was gone and the cabin had been damaged, Suzek suspects McLean returned to the scene before police and tried to remove or conceal evidence.

He said another Hamms beer can was found, as well as several cigarette butts, which were collected and sent to the MSP crime lab for DNA testing.

When police served a search warrant at the suspect’s home, all of his electronic devices were seized and when the search of the garage was done, cases of Hamms empties were found.

Defense attorney Ron Bayot asked Suszek if it was possible the scene could have been contaminated and others could have moved or altered potential evidence. Suszek admitted that was possible.

The hearing ended as Alpena County Prosecutor Cynthis Muszynski was wrapping up her comments to Judge Thomas LaCross. LaCross adjourned the hearing, which will pick back up today at 1:15 p.m.