ALPENA — A 71-year-old Alpena man facing seven charges for child sex crimes will have his case bound over to the 26th Judicial Circuit Court on Tuesday.

According to Alpena County Prosecutor Cynthia Muszynski, defendant Thomas VanDuinen saw his case moved from district court to circuit court after his preliminary hearing on Tuesday which saw Muszynski produce evidence that VanDuinen was filming underage teenagers engaging in sexual activities as well as evidence that VanDuinen committed sexual acts on an individual after supplying them with narcotics.

VanDuinen’s charges currently consist of first-degree criminal sexual conduct during a felony, three counts of aggravated child sexually abusive activity, two counts of using a computer to commit a crime, and accosting and soliciting prostitution. According to Muszynski, there is a possibility that there could be additional charges.

According to Muszynski, she is pleased with the current trajectory of the case and is thankful to the witnesses and victims for their involvement in the trial.

“I am very pleased in the outcome of Tuesday’s hearing and am looking forward to the case progressing in circuit court,” Muszynski said. “I’m very thankful for the witnesses and victims who have held so strong throughout this whole process.”

Michigan State Police began investigating VanDuinen in February 2021 after an alleged victim claimed that he preyed on young girls, provided illegal drugs to them, and then forced them to have sex with him.

After search warrants were executed at VanDuinen’s residence and business, detectives recovered digital evidence of countless images and videos of child sexually abusive material.

Police alleged that VanDuinen was also manufacturing those materials and was using social media platforms to reach out to young females.

On Monday, in circuit court, Gavin Krueger, a 27-year-old Ossineke man facing charges of supplying drugs to two individuals who died of drug overdoses, had his trial set for April 22.

According to Muszynski, there was some discussion on Monday of having the trial moved to a later date to accommodate other trials but at the moment, the date is still set for April 22.

“Well, it is set for trial at the end of April, April 22, ” Muszynski said. “There was some discussion that we’re gonna have to move it because of other trials, but so far, it looks like that’s when it will happen.”

Krueger is currently facing two counts of delivery of controlled substances causing death.

On March 18, Michigan State Police troopers from the Alpena Post responded to what was reported as two unresponsive males at a residence on U.S.-23 South in Alpena Township.

Emergency medical services officials were already on the scene, where they found the two men dead. An autopsy later determined the cause of the deaths to be intoxication from multiple drugs, including fentanyl.

An investigation led the State Police to Krueger, and, on July 23, after some additional evidence-gathering and an arrest warrant being granted, Krueger was arrested in Vero Beach, Fla. by the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office.

On Aug. 10, Krueger was transported to Michigan by the Michigan State Police 7th District Fugitive Team and lodged in the Alpena County Jail.

Also in court on Monday:

∫ Seth Webster was sentenced to five months of incarceration with credit for 138 days after pleading guilty to one count of accosting a minor for immoral purposes.