Michael Wendt, 38, of Grosse Ile, Michigan, was arrested on July 21 and charged with child pornography offenses, according to a July 24 announcement by Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. Wendt was detained after a detention hearing held in federal court in Detroit.
Gorgon was joined in the announcement by Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Detroit Division.
According to the criminal complaint, it is alleged that in June Wendt uploaded child sexually abusive material to his Google Drive account. Following a search warrant execution, agents seized Wendt’s cell phone and found several hundred images depicting child sexual abuse material during a manual review. The images included depictions of sexual assaults involving young children, infants, and toddlers. Agents also found open websites on the phone showing similar content.
The FBI said it is aware that Wendt worked as a physician assistant at urgent care offices in the Detroit area but currently has no information suggesting any patients were victimized. In response to public inquiries about the case, the FBI has established a website seeking relevant information from members of the public for its ongoing investigation.
A criminal complaint is only a charging document and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial, where it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The case is being investigated by FBI agents with assistance from the Grosse Ile Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean King and Tara Hindelang.