MONROE, Michigan — A former Bedford High School swimmer has been accused of multiple sexual assaults involving at least seven women, according to the Monroe News.
The newspaper reports that 23-year-old Dustyn Durbin is accused to have committed the assaults while a student at Eastern Michigan University.
The seven women who reported the sexual assaults against him were also students at Eastern Michigan University at the time.
According to the Monroe News, Durbin is accused of committing violent, forcible acts of sexual penetration and would threaten victims from going to the police, said Washtenaw County Assistant Prosecutor John Vella.
Vella said Durbin contacted multiple victims after the sexual assaults, telling them he was going to become a police officer and said that his best friend was a police officer.
The attacks were said to have occurred between Nov. 1 2015 and May 12, 2019 when the women were freshman, sophomores and juniors.
The Ypsilanti Police Department said the case came to light when a woman came forward to police as a victim of sexual assault.
Multiple other women were then interviewed and identified as victims, with reported incidents as far back as 2014, according to police.
The Monroe News reports that an eighth woman, also a EMU student, is expected to be added soon, according to Vella.
Durbin attended EMU in the fall of 2014 and graduation in April 2019. He graduated from Bedford High School where he was on the swim team, according to the Monroe News.
Durbin was arraigned in court on July 31 on nine counts of criminal sexual conduct. His attorney plead not guilty on his behalf to the charges.
The Monroe News reports Durbin has told police he applied to be a police officer in Seattle.
Vella expressed concerns that Durbin would be a possible flight risk due to this, as well as a public safety concern as Durbin has a past history of suicidal ideation involving crashing a car.
Durbin's attorney David Goldstein said suicidal thoughts, if they existed, shouldn't be taken into account, and said Durbin went to the police himself because he was being bullied online to commit suicide, the Monroe News reports.
Durbin is being held on a $150,000 bond. He will next appear in court on Aug. 13 at 9 a.m.
Durbin faces one count of assault with intent to commit sexual penetration, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Those who believe they may have been a victim in such a case are asked to contact Detective Jessica Lowry at 734-368-8784 or Jwelker@cityofypsilanti.com, or Detective Annette Coppock at 368-8776 or Acoppock@cityofypsilanti.com.
EMU also asks that reports of sexual assault and misconduct be directed to EMU police at 734-487-1222 or through the EMU Title IX Office.
