metro
"Living at Fox Run is
affordable than living in a hous
Maintenance, meals, utilitie
it's all taken care of
in one monthly bill."
No-Contest Plea
Novi pediatrician Jeffrey Dembs
pleas to three lesser charges.
Ronelle Grier
Contributing Writer
L
ongtime Novi pediatrician
Jeffrey Lee Dembs, 62, who
was arrested in November
2012 and charged with three counts
of criminal sexual conduct with a
child under age 13, pleaded no contest
to three lesser charges on Sept. 9 in
Oakland County Circuit Court.
Dembs agreed to plead no contest
to three counts of
assault with intent to
commit sexual pen-
etration, a felony that
carries a maximum
prison sentence of 10
years. A no-contest
plea, which is similar
Jeffrey Dembs to a guilty plea and
is often used as part
of a plea agreement in criminal cases,
means the defendant neither disputes
the charges nor admits guilt.
The plea, which was heard by
Oakland County Circuit Court Judge
Shalina Kumar, was the result of a plea
agreement with the Oakland County
Prosecutor's Office. The agreement
also stipulated that Dembs surrender
his medical license. The case was
handled by Oakland County Assistant
Prosecutor Christopher George of the
Special Victims Unit.
Dembs was originally charged with
one count of first degree criminal
sexual conduct, for which the maxi-
I
—Elaine Frazis, Fox Run resident,
pictured with daughters Debi and Karen
For affordable retirement living, no place compares to
Fox Run in Novi. Practically all of your expenses, including
property taxes and utilities, are covered by a single monthly
check. Since every apartment home is maintenance-free,
you'll never have to worry about costly repairs or replacements.
Discover a more carefree and
economical retirement. Call
1-800-917-2143 today for
your free Fox Run brochure.
Erioken,
LIVING
Fox Run
Add more Living to your Life"
Novi
EricksonLiving.com
1803170
14 September 19 • 2013
Social Change Groups
Seek Immigration Reform
A network of 26 Jewish social change
groups released a video calling on
American Jews to recommit them-
selves to passing comprehensive
immigration reform. The video fea-
tures excerpts from a 2011 speech
by President Obama to the Union of
Reform Judaism.
"Congress has an opportunity to
bring 11 million aspiring Americans
out of the shadows," said Abby
Levine, director of the Jewish Social
Justice Roundtable. "Jews came to
the United States seeking a better
life and have long stood with other
immigrants groups who share that
American Dream."
Many Jewish organizations are
working for immigration reform.
Advocacy groups like the Jewish
Council for Public Affairs, HIAS
and the National Council of Jewish
mum sentence is life in prison, and
two counts of second-degree criminal
sexual conduct, punishable by up to
15 years in prison. He was represented
by Gerald Gleeson II of the Miller
Canfield law firm in Troy.
The original charges were based
on statements made to police by an
Oakland County teen, now 15, who
said Dembs, who was the boy's pedia-
trician as well as a close family friend,
sexually abused him more than 70
times over a two-year period during
2009-10.
According to police and court
records, the teen said the abuse
occurred when he was having prob-
lems at home and began spending
increasing amounts of time with
Dembs, including numerous over-
nights at the doctor's West Bloomfield
residence and a five-day trip to Las
Vegas.
Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica
Cooper said, "I am greatly relieved that
Dr. Dembs will be surrendering his
medical license and that he will never
again have access to children. Our
office was prepared to present motions
to the court regarding similar activity
that went back decades."
Following his arrest, Dembs, who
has been free on bond, took a volun-
tary leave of absence from his practice
at the My Kid's Doc office on 12 Mile
Road in Novi. He will be sentenced by
Kumar on Sept. 24 and could face up
to 10 years in state prison.
❑
Women have led congressional vis-
its in D.C. and more than 45 in the
states this summer. For information,
visit www.hinenipledge.com .
Israeli Invention Could
Help The Blind To See
(JNS.org) — A new invention from
Israel that could potentially revolu-
tionize life for the blind and the visu-
ally impaired will go on sale in the
U.S. next month.
The device, called OrCam, works
via a 5-megapixel camera that
attaches to glasses and can recognize
text. With the help of the user, the
camera can be taught to recognize
objects and faces, said computer sci-
ences professor and the co-founder
of OrCam Technologies Amnon
Shashua, who is also the co-founder
of the more well-known Israeli start-
up MobileEye, Haaretz and Reuters
reported.
❑