Charges dropped against Thomas Township man for sexual abuse of child

SAGINAW, MI — A Thomas Township man will no longer face charges for sexually abusing a child.

At the request of prosecutors, Saginaw County District Judge Darnell Jackson dismissed the charges against 51-year-old Chad S. Hoag on Tuesday, June 18. As of June 2022, Hoag had been charged with one count of first-degree sexual abuse of a person 13 years of age or younger and molestation of a child for an immoral purpose.

The first charge is a life offense, with a minimum sentence of 25 years if convicted.

In April 2022, Child Protective Services contacted police about an 8-year-old boy who had allegedly been abused by Hoag.

Saginaw County Assistant District Attorney Blair N. Stevenson said Hoag’s defense attorney, Jeffrey J. Rupp, presented exculpatory evidence to the prosecution in his client’s favor.

“That led us to the logical conclusion that we could not prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt,” Stevenson said.

Hoag, who has spoken to MLive, has maintained his innocence and said the allegations against him were fabricated by the boy’s mother, who was “leading a campaign to destroy” his son. He provided MLive with documents dating back several years showing that the boy’s mother first accused Hoag of abusing her son in 2017.

In April 2018, Hoag was evaluated by a clinically certified sex offender treatment specialist who concluded that Hoag was telling the truth and the allegations against him were false.