OTTAWA COUNTY — Previous victims of Greg Joseph DuJardine testified during the second day of his trial Wednesday, Jan. 15, in a proceeding to determine whether he targeted a third woman in September.
DuJardine, 60, is charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct causing injury, and as a fourth offense habitual offender. His trial under Judge Jon Hulsing in Ottawa County’s 20th Circuit Court began with opening statements Tuesday, taking place just four months after the alleged assault.
DuJardine, of Muskegon, has two previous convictions for similar assaults dating back to the 1980s, according to reporting from WOOD TV-8.
More:‘Always space in her memory’: West Olive sexual assault trial begins with opening statements
In 1986, DuJardine was found guilty of second-degree criminal sexual conduct after, according to court documents, an employee at a self-service gas station in Grand Haven was searching for her car keys and DuJardine assaulted her. He was sentenced to 2-15 years in prison.
In 1989, DuJardine was found guilty of first-degree CSC after raping a park attendant in Ottawa County. According to court documents obtained by WOOD, DuJardine hit the park attendant over the head in July 1988 before assaulting her in a storage room in Ferrysburg.
He was sentenced to life behind bars for that attack, and began his sentence on Sept. 18, 1989, according to the Michigan Department of Corrections.
Jurors heard testimony from both victims Wednesday, recalling their own assaults. The Sentinel does not name victims of sexual assault.
The victim from 1988 remembered seeing a car in the parking lot of North Beach Park, where she worked. She found it odd because it was early in the morning.
While working in a storage room connected to the bathrooms at the park, she saw a man walk past the open door. He returned moments later, asking the woman for a tool. When she turned to look in the corner the man had gestured to, he struck her with a “screwdriver-like object,” causing her to fall to the ground.
“He looks a lot different now,” she told the court Wednesday. “The eyes look the same.”
According to MDOC, DuJardine was granted parole in January 2024 — a total of 34 years into his life sentence. The alleged assault in West Olive, for which he stands trial now, took place only nine months later.
The victim in the most recent case, 24, testified she was at Duncan Woods in Grand Haven having a picnic with a friend when she noticed a vehicle enter the parking lot. When she left Duncan Woods, she said, the same vehicle followed her to US-31.
She was traveling south on US-31 when, according to police, DuJardine’s vehicle struck her bumper near Lake Michigan Drive. In his testimony, also given Wednesday, DuJardine claimed he was fixing his AC settings when he rolled into the back of the victim’s vehicle.
He allegedly followed the victim until she pulled into a gas station. She testified she thought he might want to file a police report for the accident.
After both drivers exited their vehicles, the victim said, DuJardine assaulted her, touching her inappropriately, laying his head on her chest, and slapping her across the face after she fought him off.
The victim called police and videotaped while DuJardine fled in his vehicle, driving above 90 miles per hour and running a stop sign, according to testimony. The woman suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene by paramedics with AMR Ambulance.
DuJardine was taken into custody Sept. 9 and initially jailed in Muskegon County for violating his parole. After his arrest, detectives presented the case to the Ottawa County Prosecutor’s Office. Formal charges were authorized Sept. 19, and DuJardine was taken to the Ottawa County Jail, where he remains under a bond of $500,000.
DuJardine, for his part, said he never inappropriately touched the victim, claiming he put a calming hand on her shoulder. He said, when he reached his hand to shake hers, she slapped him. He said he retaliated with a slap in self-defense.
He claimed he left the scene because he was “terrified” by her claim that he groped her.
“The prior convictions I had previously in my life about 40 years ago … I didn’t believe anyone would believe any of this,” DuJardine said Wednesday.
When he was cross-examined by the prosecution, he said the accusation “petrified me and just scared me to death.”
When asked by the defense if he’d possibly accidentally touched the victim’s vaginal area while reaching out his hand, he said he was “pretty positive” he didn’t.
DuJardine didn’t deny his previous convictions. The prosecution asked what he stands to gain if he keeps denying the victim’s claims.
“I gain the truth,” he said. “I did not touch her.”
“But the other ladies, you did?”
“Yes,” DuJardine said. “I was young.”
In closing arguments, the prosecution pointed out similarities between the 1988 assault and the incident Sept. 8, including asking for a tool and causing a car accident to gain access.
According to his GPS monitoring system, DuJardine spent two hours at Grand Haven Beach before driving to Duncan Woods, where he spent about 15 minutes before leaving behind the victim. Prosecutors believe he spent those hours looking for a victim, and found one at Duncan Woods.
The defense, in their closing, attacked the victim’s credibility by noting her active TikTok account, which had over 200K followers. On the day of the incident, she posted video of DuJardine fleeing the scene followed by “storytime” about what happened.
The morning of the preliminary hearing, the victim posted a video showing her prepping to testify in court. According to her testimony, the victim’s TikTok account is part of her regular income.
The jury began deliberations Wednesday, and is expected to continue Thursday.
— Cassidey Kavathas is the politics and court reporter at The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at ckavathas@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @cassideykava.
