An Oakland county jury found defendant guilty of the crime of gross indecency.
*455 A 16-year-old youth, testified that he participated with defеndant in the commission of the crime during January or February, 1958, while he was under the influence of liquor, and that he was frequently intoxicаted during the spring and summer of 1958. A detective of the Oakland county sheriff’s department testified that while defendant admitted committing thе homosexual act, he later repudiated the confession. A court reporter employed in the prosecutor’s office testified that she recorded defendant’s admission to guilt and that same was freely given and without promises.
Defеndant testified that he was 50 years of age; that he had been an educator for 24 years; that he had served as an officer with the United States navy; that prior to his arrest in this case (December 16,1958) he had never been arrested.
Defendant admittеd he gave a statement to the prosecuting attorney admitting his guilt because “they asked me various questions and, while Detective Whitlock said no promises were made, if he said once, he said 10 times this statement: that he would try to make it a misdemeanor, try to get this, so I would be given a jail sentence, a short sentence, make it a misdemeanor and I would get 10 days or sо, and it could be kept quiet, as the board of education wants to keep it quiet, we want to keep it quiet— want it kept quiеt. * * * Well, I thought even if they made the charges, it would hit the papers and that would be no good for me or anybody else, whereas, if I made a guilty admission, and if I got 10 days in jail, it wouldn’t hurt me too much. * * * Well, I wanted to get the thing over with. And I thought, if the thing was in the paper, evеn if an alleged act, most likely it would ruin me, and there was the pressure that a deal could be made if I would plead guilty.” Defеndant contended he was *456 not guilty and. said he had never committed an act of indecency with the 16-year-old youth.
Two school teachers, a minister of the gospel, and a young man who had lived at one time with defendant, all testified they would believe defendant under oath and that bis reputation in tbe community for truth, veracity, and good moral conduct was good.
There is merit in appellant’s question number one justifying reversal and new trial, such question being:
“Did tbe trial court err in allowing tbe assistant prosecuting attorney to introduce testimony, to make statements and to argue to tbe jury distinct and separate acts оf immorality and indecency on tbe part of tbe defendant with young men other than tbe one indorsed on tbe information?”
Detеctive Charles Whitlock testified that on December 12, 1958, an accident occurred in West Bloomfield township resulting in tbe death of a 16-year-old boy; that the subsequent investigation revealed “that there bad been quite a bit of beer drinking by these boys,” one of whom was the boy with whom defendant was found to have committed tbe act of gross indecency; that tbe investigation disclosed that tbe boys obtained tbe beer from defendant Mooney; that “along with tbe information as to tbe furnishing of beer to thesе boys, we received information that there bad been lewd, homosexual parties at tbe home of tbe defendant and with this information these boys were interviewed. My first connection with tbe case was on tbe day of tbe funeral of” tbe dead bоy. He testified that be talked to 2 boys concerning tbe matter.
Appellee attempts to justify tbe introduction of this testimony оf Mr. Whitlock by stating:
“In response to appellant’s first contention under this issue, there is no question that tbe people’s *457 witness, Detective Whitlock, did testify that ‘we received information that there had been lewd, homosexual parties at the home of the defendant, and with this information these boys were interviewed.’ As the court will note, however, this relevant and material testimony elicited by the people was essential toward establishing in evidence these circumstances which precipitated the officers’ investigation and subsequent apprehension of the appellant, Mr. Mooney.”
We do not agree with appellee. In
People
v.
Dean,
“The only apparent reasoning on which this testimony can be said to be relevant is that it tends to establish a disposition on the part of the defendant to commit such an act. If admissible for that purposе, other larcenies might be proven in a case where a man was charged with that offense, and other assaults, bigamiеs, rapes, et cetera, in like cases.
“That the defendant committed similar offenses with other boys has no direct tendеncy to show that he committed that with which he is charged, which had no connection with them. By the admission of such testimony, he is, in effеct, called upon to defend against charges, without notice that he would be required to meet them. Where the charge involves conduct with the same person, as in the Swift Case [People v. Swift,172 Mich 473 ], he may, on the preliminary examination, elicit the fact that such tеstimony will be relied upon by the prosecution and be prepared to meet it as best he may.
“The only purpose of submitting such proof in this case was to render it more probable in the minds of the jury that the defendant committed the offense with which he is charged, and on reason as well as authority it was not admissible for that purpose.”
*458 In argument to the jury, the assistant prоsecuting-attorney referred to men who preyed on boys under 16 years of age.
The fact that evidence of these other crimes precipitated the investigation of defendant did not render it admissible. If this were the case, the rule-agаinst admissibility of evidence of other crimes could be circumvented on the pretense that they were-leads which resulted in the apprehension of defendant for the crime charged. The impact upon the jury of this evidence was unquestiоnably considerable and for this reason the conviction is reversed, and the case remanded for new trial.