LCC professor arrested in sex operation, on leave after 4 charges filed

LANSING — A Lansing Community College professor has been placed on leave after being accused of child sexual abuse and molesting a minor for immoral purposes.

Jonathan Ten Brink, 42, was arrested July 17 in an operation involving the Lansing Police Department’s Special Operations Unit and a detective with the Eaton County Sheriff’s Office in Lansing, a court document said.

He was arraigned on July 18 and pleaded not guilty to one count of child sexual abuse and molesting a minor for immoral purposes, and two counts of using a computer to commit a crime, court records show. He is free on $50,000 personal bond pending further hearings in the case.

Ten Brink, whose last name was spelled “Tenbrink” in court documents, was listed as program faculty chair of the music program on LCC’s website. “Dr. J.,” as the website called him, conducts the concert choir and teaches voice, musical cultures and the studio program. He also advises students in the music program, the website said.

Ten Brink has been placed on administrative leave, said Marilyn Twine, LCC’s public relations director. Twine declined to comment further, noting that the case is still pending.

A lawyer for Ten Brink, Edwar Zeineh, said he was reviewing research material.

“We recently received the material and we are currently evaluating it and investigating the case and all applicable defenses,” Zeineh said, noting that Ten Brink is presumed innocent while the case is pending.

In a court document, a Lansing police officer said Ten Brink was arrested around noon on June 17 at the intersection of Shubel and Sunnyside avenues, where a police decoy was set up. He told police he was a music teacher at LCC and “appeared embarrassed and disappointed in himself,” the officer wrote.

The document said Ten Brink had talked about meeting someone for a sex act on a phone app, but the “chat” he was communicating with was a Lansing police officer. The meeting place was supposed to be Sycamore Park, it said.

“Officers asked Tenbrink if he had driven off to meet a 15 year old, he stated ‘I didn’t believe she was 15 but if that’s what was in the chat then yes,'” the officer wrote in the court document. “Officers asked Tenbrink if the original intent of the conversation was to meet the chatter to have sexual contact, Tenbrink stated ‘with the possibility of.'”

At one point, Ten Brink told officers he thought the person he was speaking to was 16 years old, the document said.

The hearing to determine whether Ten Brink should face the charges was tentatively scheduled for August 8.

Contact Ken Palmer at [email protected]Follow him on X @KBPalm_lsj.

This article originally appeared in Lansing State Journal: Lansing Police, Eaton Sheriff Arrest LCC Professor in Sex Case

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