Nelson Otto Ropke
By: K. Michelle Moran | Grosse Pointe Times | Published May 19, 2026
GROSSE POINTE PARK/DETROIT — A Grosse Pointe Park man is facing disturbing charges that could land him in prison for the rest of his life.
Nelson Otto Ropke, 41, is facing 26 felony charges, including possession and distribution of child sexually abusive material. He was arraigned on those charges April 22 in front of Grosse Pointe Park Municipal Court Judge John Parnell and given a $1 million cash bond and ordered to surrender his passport and all devices with cameras. Ropke was also ordered to have no access to devices with internet connections, no contact with anyone under age 18 and no contact with certain family members.
“There are many times in this job where we encounter alleged facts where you wonder how some people can sink to certain levels of depravity,” Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a prepared statement. “This is one of those cases. There is really nothing left to say here.”
According to prosecutors, Ropke was arrested at his Grosse Pointe Park home April 21 following an investigation by Michigan State Police. Ropke was allegedly found to be in possession of videos and photos with sexually abusive images of prepubescent children.
Ropke; his defense attorney, Timothy Dinan; and Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Tina Ripley appeared via Zoom in front of Parnell for Ropke’s probable cause conference May 6.
“My client is prepared to waive his right to a preliminary exam,” Dinan told the judge.
Parnell asked Ropke if he had been threatened or coerced into waiving his right to this hearing.
“No, your honor,” Ropke said from a hospital bed at the Wayne County Jail.
Ripley said prosecutors had no objections to the preliminary examination being waived.
It was not known what Ropke was being hospitalized for. Dinan could not be reached before press time for comment.
Parnell bound over the case to Wayne County Circuit Court. An arraignment on information took place May 13 in front of 3rd Circuit Court Judge Christopher Blount.
Ropke is an attorney who formerly worked for such prominent law firms as Miller Canfield Paddock and Stone, and Clark Hill. His LinkedIn profile shows that his last job as an attorney was for CURE Auto Insurance, for which he is said to have started in March 2025, but he was no longer working there at press time. As of May 18, he was still listed on the State Bar of Michigan website as an attorney who was “active and in good standing.”
At press time, a calendar conference for the case was slated to take place May 20 in front of 3rd Circuit Court Judge Darnella D. Williams-Claybourne — after the May 21 edition of the Grosse Pointe Times went to press.