Prosecutor Gives 87-Year-Old Man a Pass

Howard Arthur Klein lived 87 years without so much as a blot on his criminal record. In truth, the elderly Michigan man didn't have a record at all until a night in June when he was nabbed in a sting, accused of soliciting a prostitute who was actually an undercover cop. But it seems all will be forgotten as a Kent County prosecutor has decided to throw out his case. "He is 87 years old with absolutely no criminal record. In addition, I am told he struggles to some degree with dementia," he tells Michigan Live. "He wouldn't and shouldn't go to jail and 87 years without involvement in the criminal justice system has, in my opinion, earned him a pass."

Two accused prostitutes, aged 32 and 45, and two other males arrested alongside Klein in the June sting in Grand Rapids were booked into the Kent County Jail, but Klein was allowed to go free because of his age, reports Fox 17. He was arraigned on July 8 and faced 93 days in jail if convicted. Klein, who MLive reports is "likely the oldest person ever charged with this crime," has denied any wrongdoing. He tells WOOD-TV he simply thought the woman he approached on a street was someone he knew from his church. (More Michigan stories.)