Woman denied protection order prior to suspected assault, kidnapping
Oct. 19—TRAVERSE CITY — A 30-year-old Blair Township woman, who alleged she was kidnapped and sexually assaulted Oct. 8, was denied a personal protection order against her suspected assailant in July, court records show.
According to those documents, on July 14 she filed a petition with the 13th Circuit Court for a non-domestic personal protection order against Christopher Thomas, 38, of Traverse City.
Thomas has been charged and pleaded not guilty in the Oct. 8 case.
The July petition for a PPO included a four-page letter detailing years of alleged aggressive stalking behavior by Thomas, including allegations that he tried to follow her out of state while she attended a program for school.
Records show she had a prior PPO against Thomas that had been valid from 2014 to 2020 in Antrim County.
She wrote that she was concerned, if she didn't take any action, his behavior might escalate. Her petition claimed Thomas had been "stalking" her since they first met in college downstate more than 10 years ago.
One of her friends also wrote a letter, corroborating her account of a night in Elk Rapids where Thomas allegedly showed up at an event they were both attending, and followed them home.
Another friend submitted a witness statement on her behalf for the PPO application in which he referenced the same Elk Rapids incident and cited another incident of alleged stalking while they were having drinks one night this past summer in downtown Traverse City.
The 13th Circuit Court Family Division Referee Matthew Hagen recommended denial of the PPO, citing that a hearing might be necessary to address the allegations made by the woman and her two friends.
"Petitioner fails to allege sufficient facts to show that immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage would occur before a hearing," Hagen wrote. "This court denies petitioner's request for ex parte relief."
"Ex parte" means that a decision is based on the petitioner's request alone, but often the respondent to a petition for a PPO can request a hearing to state their side of the case before a final ruling.
The ex parte denial was delivered to the woman the day after she filed for the PPO on July 15, according to court documents.
Women's Resource Center Director of Advocacy Carl Mormann said ex parte PPOs are generally denied when the court believes the petition would benefit from a hearing in front of a judge to decide whether or not to grant the PPO.
"The court isn't saying that the petitioner is ineligible for a PPO, they're saying they can't approve the PPO ex parte," he said.
The follow-up to that denial in ex parte cases would be for the petitioner to file a motion for a hearing, Mormann said. During these hearings, the respondent also is given the opportunity to give their side of events before a decision is made.
At the Women's Resource Center, he said they focus on helping their clients file for domestic PPOs, or ones related to aggravated stalking or sexual assaults. He said they seek to help the people who come to them for PPOs understand how to tell their story in court.
At 1:15 a.m. on Oct. 8, Grand Traverse Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a call from Munson Medical Center, where the woman told police that Thomas had sexually assaulted her, binding her with restraints and forcibly removing her from her home, according to previous Record-Eagle reporting.
A pattern of behavior was cited in court by Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Noelle Moeggenberg at Thomas's arraignment on Monday afternoon, and was used by Magistrate Tammi Rogers as a reason to deny Thomas bond.
Thomas currently faces four counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, in addition to kidnapping, torture, first-degree home invasion and aggravated stalking counts.
Moeggenberg said, if convicted of these charges, Thomas could face multiple life sentences. He has pleaded not guilty.
The next court date in this case is scheduled for Oct. 25.
