For Immediate Release

May 7, 2014

Charges Issued in Roseville Cold Case Kidnapping and Rape

MOUNT CLEMENS, MI — Prosecutors and police today authorized charges on a 1998 Roseville abduction and rape after new DNA evidence linked the incident to a known sex convict.

Acting on a warrant request put forward by Roseville Police Chief James Berlin, Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith charged Michael Loftis, 44, with one count of Criminal Sexual Conduct 1st Degree, a life felony, one count of Kidnapping, a life felony, and one count of Unlawful Imprisonment, punishable by up to fifteen years.

Loftis was taken into custody this morning by Roseville police.

The charges stem from an evening in July 1998 when a 62-year-old Roseville resident was abducted from a bingo game at the Sacred Heart Church Festival. Prosecutors allege that the victim was pushed into her car and driven to a liquor store parking lot at 12 Mile and I-94 where she was raped in the vehicle.

The woman survived the incident and received medical treatment at St. John Macomb Hospital. Lab samples were taken from her clothing and car seat material and processed at the Michigan State Police Crime Lab in Northville.

The resulting DNA profile went unmatched until last year, when the State Police received a CODIS hit on Michael Loftis, a known sex offender whose DNA had just been obtained by California law enforcement agencies. Loftis now lives in Clinton Township.

The victim died in 2011 of natural causes at the age of 75.

Roseville detectives, led by Detective Bradley McKenzie, teamed with prosecutors and the Michigan State Police to track down nurses, doctors, lab scientists, and police officers involved in the 1998 processing of the crime scene, and unearthed medical notes and interview statements which establish the scientific evidence.

“I applaud the Roseville Police Department for never letting go of this case,” said Prosecutor Smith. “They combined new forensic science with solid, old-school police work in an effort to bring closure to the victim’s family.

Loftis will be arraigned today at 1:15 p.m. in the courtroom of Judge Catherine Steenland, 39th District Court, Roseville.

“Our cold case message remains the same,” Smith said. “You can run from your actions, but you cannot hide.”