Free Republic

In tears, the Westland woman accused of accepting money for sex from the husband of U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., began serving five days in jail today for violating the terms of her probation. The decision, said 52-4 District Judge William Bolle, effectively ends the case. It's been a long ride for the 21-year-old Alycia Martin, who is now eight months pregnant and engaged, said her pro bono attorney Frank Cusumano Jr. Martin, who dropped out of high school in the ninth grade and has been on her own since she was in her late teens, is working at a...

TROY, Mich. (AP) -- A woman accused of having a paid sexual tryst with the husband of Michigan U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow has been sentenced to probation on a lesser charge. Alycia Martin was sentenced Tuesday to six months’ probation. The 21-year-old’s record will be expunged if she successfully completes her sentence. Prosecutors dropped a prostitution charge against the Westland woman in June. She pleaded guilty to trespassing. Investigators conducting surveillance Feb. 26 at a Troy hotel stopped then-46-year-old Thomas Athans. They say Stabenow’s husband acknowledged meeting Martin through the Internet and paying her $150 for sex. Authorities didn’t charge...

Recently a T-Shirt was put up for sale on the internet. It purports to be directed at Thomas Athans (since no one would even know who Alycia Martin is otherwise) however, Thomas Athans is not mentioned, depicted in picture, or otherwise referenced, on the shirt. This is because Thomas Athans was never charged with any crime stemming from the events of February 26, 2008. This remarkable lack of prosecution and fodder for the media (and this T-Shirt company) is a direct result of the "special treatment" afforded Thomas Athans. There simply is no "mug shot" of Thomas Athans to use....

Woman linked to senator's husband agrees to reduced charge of trespassing TROY -- An accused prostitute charged with performing a paid sex act on U.S. Debbie Stabenow's husband pleaded guilty Thursday to a reduced charge of trespassing. Alycia Martin, 21, made the plea before Troy 52-4 District Judge William Bolle after her attorney consulted with Troy city prosecutors. Trespassing, like the original prostitution charge, is a misdemeanor. Her plea means there will be no trial and that Stabenow's husband, Thomas Athans, won't have to appear to testify for the prosecution in open court. Under questioning from Bolle, Martin admitted she...

The husband of U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow was not ordered to testify in the pretrial hearing of a woman charged in a prostitution sting. Defense attorney Frank A. Cusumano Jr. says Troy District Court Judge William Bolle ruled Tuesday that Thomas Athans' testimony was not needed at a hearing to decide if Alycia Martin could challenge a police search of her hotel room.