A Dexter Township man who was convicted of exposing himself to minors is seeking a new trial and is alleging prosecutorial misconduct, according to recent court filings.

Attorneys for Dennis Schwartzenberger claim Washtenaw County prosecutors intentionally withheld information about the criminal past of a stepfather of one of the victims during the February trial.

A hearing before Circuit Judge Archie Brown is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

Schwartzenberger, 68, was convicted of four misdemeanor counts of indecent exposure after three days of testimony. Jurors acquitted him of five felony charges, including second-degree criminal sexual conduct and accosting a child for immoral purposes. 

He faces up to one year in jail at sentencing on March 31.

Despite the mixed results, Mike Vincent, Schwartzenberger’s attorney, said his client has always maintained his innocence and should get a new trial based on what prosecutors didn’t disclose.

“It was a very successful defense, but those four misdemeanors are significant issues,” Vincent said. “We also have serious issues with how the case was prosecuted and it’s our job to bring that to the judge’s attention.”

At trial, the girls, now ages 8 and 9, testified Schwartzenberger showed them pornography and repeatedly exposed himself when they visited his home for fishing and boating on a pond last summer.

Schwartzenberger denied the allegations, and the trial was postponed for a day while his attorneys researched the conviction of one victim’s stepfather for child sexually abusive activity in 2008.

In court documents filed earlier this month, Vincent alleges prosecutors didn't reveal an investigative report from that case until the third and final day of trial. Within it were details that the man admitted to getting exciting after accidentally touching the victim’s genitals in a 2007 incident.

Vincent said the report is crucial to Schwartzenberger’s defense because it supports the theory that the victim projected the actions of one person onto another.

The fact that jurors acquitted Schwartzenberger on all felony counts only bolsters his argument, Vincent said. He could have prepared a stronger defense with expert witnesses that would have supported the phenomena known as transference and cross-transference.

“It seemed like a compromise verdict in light of the acquittals on all of the felony charges,” he said. “We could have presented a much stronger defense with expert witnesses that would support our theory.”

Washtenaw County Chief Deputy Assistant Prosecutor Steve Hiller declined to comment on the case and said his office will respond to the allegations in court documents to be filed this week. 

Hiller said prosecutors recently received transcripts of the trial, and he expected Wednesday’s hearing to be postponed.

Art Aisner is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. Reach the news desk at news@annarbor.com or 723-623-2530.