August 13, 2026
Noelle R. Moeggenberg
Grand Traverse County Prosecuting Attorney
324 Court Street
Traverse City, MI 49684-9958

Prosecutor Moeggenberg,

I write this open letter to urge you to accept Attorney General Dana Nessel’s recent offer to assist your office and local law enforcement in investigating the child sexual misconduct allegations spanning decades, against 47 adults involving 70 former child students/campers at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. The allegations were announced in late July 2026. As you are aware, Jeffrey Epstein is among the adults accused of sexual misconduct against children at Interlochen Center for the Arts.

As you are also aware, in 2024, the Interlochen Center for the Arts hired a law firm to investigate possible child sexual abuse after an individual reached out with allegations. The firm’s recently released report includes approximately 70 first-hand accounts of alleged abuse and exploitation against 47 adults including former staff members, donors, trustees, visitors, and others connected to the academy or arts camp.

During my two terms (2019-2022) serving on the Grand Traverse County Commission, you may recall I advocated for the commission to heed your pleas for additional staff to manage and keep up with your caseload. On July 9, 2025, you reported to the Commission that your office was understaffed and struggling to keep up with your caseload. You stated during the Commission meeting: “We have literally had times in my office where we have more courtrooms running than we have attorneys able to be present in all of those courtrooms at the same time. One of our district court judges said to me a couple weeks ago, based on the numbers that we’re seeing, you should be asking for another position. I said, ‘Why would I do that when I can’t fill the ones that I have now?’” You also stated your office was reaching a “crisis point.” Media coverage uplifted that state standards say no prosecuting attorney should be handling more than 150 open felony cases at one time, but your chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Kyle Attwood, had 208 open felony cases.

I appreciate your candor both during my time on the Commission and last year, in voicing your concerns and advocating for additional resources. It is an important point given the significant number of cases now on your desk from Interlochen Center for the Arts.

Right now, it is imperative to secure timely justice as swiftly and comprehensively as possible for the 70 people who’ve come forward with allegations against 47 Interlochen staff, donors, trustees, visitors and other adults accused of sexual misconduct toward them as children. With such an expansive influx of new cases originating here in Grand Traverse County, now more than ever expert state assistance is needed in order to handle these cases thoroughly, appropriately, and in a timely manner

As you are no doubt aware, Attorney General Nessel’s office has an exceptionally strong track record of investigating and prosecuting institutional sexual abuse cases that involve a significant number of individuals. These include the Larry Nassar conviction at Michigan State University, convictions of many Catholic clergy members, and convictions of many Boy Scouts of America personnel who engaged in criminal sexual conduct (CSC). Less known to the public, Attorney General Nessel established the Criminal Investigations Division, the sworn Law Enforcement Division within the Attorney General’s office that provides investigative support throughout the State of Michigan. Attorney General Nessel and her team also have extensive expertise when it comes to sexual abuse cases. The Attorney General and team have worked tirelessly for the last several years to clear the backlog of hundreds of unprocessed rape kits, resulting in multiple convictions with appropriately lengthy prison sentences for the predators. The Attorney General’s office also launched the “Operation Survivor Justice” partnership to apprehend fugitive offenders with outstanding sexual assault warrants, and Attorney General Nessel intentionally hired some of the best CSC lawyers in the state to serve on her team, which gets a CSC conviction almost daily.

I share all of this to highlight the important opportunity the Attorney General has presented to bring her expert team in to handle the serious and large influx of cases from Interlochen Center for the Arts involving 47 accused adult staff, donors, etc. by 70 former child campers.

Finally, there are wider ramifications for how this situation is handled by the authorities. We are in troubled times as Americans when it comes to child sex abuse and survivor justice; ongoing failure to properly investigate the Epstein Files by the criminal justice system at all levels for decades, remains glaring. Public trust, and most importantly, survivors’ trust in institutions, has suffered incredible damage. Significant repair work is necessary by we who represent institutions of public service, which is why I am compelled to write this open letter. I am sure you will agree survivors and our community need confidence that our criminal justice system will take a true all hands on deck approach to fully investigate the allegations in the Interlochen Center for the Arts report and any confirmed perpetrators still living, will be held fully accountable for their actions.

Attorney General Nessel made it clear with her formal offer in the immediate wake of the Interlochen Center for the Arts report release, that she is willing to provide any support that your office needs going forward. I respectfully ask and strongly urge you to move decisively to accept her team’s offer and fully leverage the capacity, skill, and track record it brings for the benefit of our community, survivors, and their families.

Sincerely,

Betsy Coffia
State Representative
House District 103