Fired attorney 'sexually assaulted me'

A former Holland deputy city attorney is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the 58th District Courthouse who was charged with drunken driving. After the alleged assault, he immediately reducing her criminal charges, the alleged victim told 24 Hour News 8.

The woman filed a personal protection order against Carl Gabrielse after she reported him to Holland police.

"The sex was not mutual," the alleged victim told 24 Hour News 8 on Nov. 8.

States the PPO: "The respondent (Gabrielse) committed physical assault/battery and intimidation ... The respondent has sexually assaulted me."

Gabrielse worked for Cunningham Dalman, a law firm in Holland contracted to do official Holland city legal work. He has been doing this type of work since 2004 but was fired Nov. 6.

The woman involved was arrested for a misdemeanor traffic offense in Holland on Oct. 17. She originally was charged with drunken driving, sources tell 24 Hour News 8. She went to court Nov. 3.

In a private meeting with Gabrielse, her charges were lowered to driving while impaired, according to sources, who say Gabrielse took the alleged victim into the bathroom of a jury room of the courthouse.

Those rooms are not accessible to the general public and require an electronic key to enter, sources added. But there are security cameras in the hallways.

The next day, Wednesday, the woman went to Holland police to report what happened and police taped a phone conversation the woman had with Gabrielse, according to sources. Police wanted to confirm through that call that a sexual encounter had occurred.

Next, sources say police wired the woman with a recording device before she left to meet with Gabrielse.

Holland Mayor-elect Kurt Dykstra and city attorney Andrew Mulder confirmed investigators are examining other cases Gabrielse has worked on for the city to determine if the allegation is an isolated case.

No charges have been filed. To avoid a conflict of interest, Holland police have turned the case over to the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department to investigate, Holland city officials told 24 Hour News 8.