Christina Hines’ Soft-on-Crime Record
Soft on crime liberal Christina Hines’ “record as a prosecutor is facing renewed scrutiny over her handling of sexual assault cases, including offering a plea agreement to a man accused of sexually assaulting nine women and dropping charges against another man accused of sexual assault, domestic violence, and threatening to kill his alleged victim.”
“Soft on crime liberal Christina Hines continually put dangerous criminals ahead of victims. Pro-crime Hines proved she can’t be trusted to keep Michiganders safe and that she is too extreme to represent Michigan in Congress.”– NRCC Spokesman Zach Bannon
Read more from The Midwesterner here or see excerpts below:
Christina Hines accused of putting ‘dangerous criminals ahead of victims’ in sexual assault cases
The Midwesterner
Killian Bies
October 5, 2026
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Hines, who is running against Republican Michael Bouchard in Michigan’s 10th Congressional District, previously served as first assistant prosecutor in the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office.
In 2021, Hines handled the prosecution of Dustyn Durbin, an Eastern Michigan University graduate and former fraternity member who faced 13 counts of criminal sexual conduct stemming from accusations involving nine women.
Durbin faced two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct carrying potential sentences of up to life in prison, along with charges ranging from assault with intent to commit sexual penetration to third- and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct.
The Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office put a plea offer on the table, Hines said during an April 2021 court appearance, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The Ann Arbor Independent later reported Hines offered Durbin an agreement under which he would plead as charged to the two most serious counts and receive 15 to 30 years in prison with lifetime electronic monitoring.
Hines was also involved in a 2021 case involving Jeffrey Dwayne Smith, who was accused of sexual assault, domestic violence, kidnapping, and threatening his alleged victim.
A magistrate set Smith’s bond at $3 million after investigators presented allegations that he sent the woman threatening messages, including a threat to go to a domestic violence shelter with an AK-47 and kill everyone inside.
“Even if one of these texts is from Mr. Smith, he’s an extremely dangerous person,” Magistrate Elisha Fink said while setting bond, according to the Ann Arbor Independent. “This is not a situation where I can take any chances.”
Hines later dropped the charges.
“There is not sufficient evidence to go forward with these charges,” Hines said. “Obviously, this is not what anyone wanted.”
The woman who accused Smith criticized Hines and investigators over their handling of the case, alleging that witnesses who could corroborate her claims had not been contacted before the preliminary hearing.
The woman later appeared in a 2024 advertisement paid for by the Conservative Political Action Coalition criticizing Hines’ handling of her case.
“She informed me that she was not able to prosecute,” the woman, identified in the advertisement as Ravone Fields, said. “She didn’t give really any reason. She just kept repeating, ‘We can’t prosecute this man. We can’t prosecute him.’”
Fields said she moved homes, changed vehicles, and at times slept at a police station because she feared she was being followed.
“Christina Hines absolutely treated my abuser better than me,” Fields said. “I think she’s more so on the side of the perpetrators and getting people out of jail.”
Hines also served as first assistant prosecutor when former NHL player Reid Boucher pleaded guilty in 2021 to third-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a minor after originally being charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct.
The case involved the sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl in 2011, when Boucher was 17 and living with the girl’s family while playing for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program.
Boucher’s original first-degree charge carried a potential sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
Circuit Judge Patrick Conlin allowed Boucher to plead guilty to the lesser charge and agreed to sentence him under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act with no upfront jail time. The case would not appear on Boucher’s public record if he successfully completed his sentence.
The woman Boucher assaulted told the Detroit Free Press she was “disgusted” with the resolution.
“I feel like a lot of the progress I’ve made over the last 10 years — that’s been undone,” she said.
The woman said the prosecutor’s office made the plea offer without her express knowledge and encouraged her to consider other forms of justice, including an apology from Boucher.
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