On Wednesday afternoon, a Huron County jury convicted a 49-year-old man of sexually assaulting two children under the age of 13.

David William Gray, formerly of Huron County, was convicted of two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, victim under the age of 13, and two counts of second-degree criminal conduct, victim under the age of 13, after a two-day trial in 52nd Circuit Court.

Gray was convicted of second-degree criminal sexual conduct in Tuscola County in 1990. He also has previous convictions for no account check in Huron and Tuscola counties in 2009.

Due to habitual offender enhancements, Gray faces a possible sentence of life in prison without parole. Judge Gerald M. Prill scheduled sentencing for Monday, Dec. 5, at 9 a.m.

The charges arose out of an investigation by the Michigan State Police that indicated Gray sexually assaulted one child when she was 3 years old and another child while she was between the ages of 5 and 9. On Dec. 7, 2021, Prosecutor Timothy J. Rutkowski charged Gray with four counts of criminal sexual conduct.

Gray was eventually located in Florida by the U.S. Marshals Service and returned to Michigan. He was arraigned in Huron County 73B District Court on Feb. 1.

On the first day of the trial, jurors watched video of an interview of Gray conducted by Trooper Bethany Craig of the Michigan State Police Caro Post at the Huron County Jail in February.

During questioning, Gray initially denied the allegations but eventually admitted to Craig he committed the abuse and attributed the acts in part to past issues with alcohol.

On Tuesday, the victims also testified about the abuse that took place in the mid-to-late 2000s when they were under the age of 13. The Huron Daily Tribune does not identify victims of sexual assault. Witnesses also included Gray’s former wife and his sister.

An investigation into the allegations against Gray began in May 2021 after one of the victims wrote an essay mentioning her abuse for a school assignment and her teacher made a report to authorities. The Huron County teacher testified about the essay during Tuesday’s portion of the trial.

The second day of the trial opened with Gray taking the stand to testify on his own behalf, once again denying the allegations despite the video evidence presented a day earlier. Defense attorney Andrew Lockard questioned Gray about his marriage, divorce and his family life.

During cross-examination, Rutkowski, who prosecuted the case with Chief Assistant Prosecutor David Wallace, pressed Gray on the inconsistencies and contradictions in his statements to Craig and his testimony on Wednesday and showed jurors a pair of diagrams sketched out by Craig during the February interview on which Gray drew lines illustrating how he had abused his victims.

After deliberating less than 45 minutes, a jury consisting of five women and seven men found Gray guilty on all four counts.

Rutkowski said the integrity of the case centered on “the complete and thorough investigation by Trooper Craig and the courage of the victims” to come forward and share what happened to them.

“Due to the diligent investigation by Trooper Craig of the Michigan State Police, and the courage of the victims of these horrific crimes, our office was able to prosecute Gray to the fullest extent of the law and ensure that he will be held accountable for his crimes,” Rutkowski said in a Wednesday press release from the prosecutor’s office.

Gray is currently lodged in the Huron County Jail awaiting sentencing.

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