MI- Cass defendant attempts suicide after conviction

8-1-2008 Michigan:

A Pokagon Township man was convicted in Cass County Circuit Court on Thursday of repeatedly sexually molesting a young girl, then attempted to kill himself as the verdict was read.

In a jury trial that concluded Thursday, John Clyde Tighe, 54, was found guilty on three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and three counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct for molesting a young girl from 2001 through 2006.

According to Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz, the charged atmosphere in the courtroom when the verdict was read was compounded when Tighe reportedly produced a bottle of pills of an unknown type and began stuffing them into his mouth.

Security personnel in the courtroom took the bottle away from Tighe, at which point he produced more pills that were apparently within his pants and began taking those, as well. He was quickly restrained and taken to a hospital to be treated.

Tighe, who Fitz characterized as a "career rapist", was previously convicted of felony child molestation in Berrien County in 1987, and may have had a pattern of victimizing children even prior to that. In a report, Fitz stated that investigation revealed a reported victim who told police Tighe had molested her as early as 1982.

In the case he was convicted on this week, Tighe repeatedly fondled a young girl from when she was 8 until she was 12, entering the room she was sleeping in at night and touching her. The jury deliberated for an hour and a half before finding him guilty of all six counts.

Tighe could face a possible life sentence for each of the first-degree charges. And although the maximum sentence for the second-degree charges is normally 15 years, the possible penalty is increased to 22.5 years because of the prior conviction. ..News Source.. by Staff