Defendant to takeĀ 2nd Psychiatric Exam
Welton D. Pulliam, the young Saginaw man who is facing first degree criminal sexual conduct charges for raping a woman who he has known since they were children together, will now be undergoing a second psychiatric exam.
On Thursday, September 11th, Saginaw County Circuit Judge James T. Borchard conducted an evidentiary hearing in which he agreed with the findings of a psychiatric report conducted at the Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Ypsilanti.
Pulliam’s attorney, Bruce Petrick, had requested the first psychiatric exam on the grounds that Pulliam was not mentally competent when he committed the rape.
But he objected to the findings of the report, which determined that Pulliam was competent. Petrick then requested and was granted an independent exam, which is usually conducted at the expense of the county for defendants like Pulliam, who have court-appointed attorneys and cannot afford their own legal representation.
Pulliam is facing charges of first-degree criminal sexual conduct (first degree CSC), which under Michigan law is the most serious of sexual offenses. It involves penetration of the victim and carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. He is also charged with first-degree home invasion and extortion, which are both felonies and carry twenty year maximum penalties for those convicted.
The charges stem from an incident in which a 22-year-old woman claims that she met Pulliam at a party store and they talked for a while. He told her they had known each other as children. He then gave her a ride home but came back to her door and told her she had forgotten her cigarettes.
According to the victim’s testimony, when she attempted to take the cigarettes and close the door again, Pulliam pushed his way into her home, dragged her to the bedroom and raped her. When he was done, Pulliam allegedly told her that if she reported the events he would kill her. However, the woman called 911 as soon as he had left and underwent a rape kit which documented her injuries.
Pulliam is still in jail, unable to post bail on the $150,000 bond he was issued by the judge.