Alleged text between judge, juror stalls Declercq appeal. Action on motion for new trial suspended, pending hearing for Grosse Pointe sailor
YouTube video calling judge "dirty" is linked to registered sex offender
Mio, Michigan — Oscoda County Judge Casandra Morse-Bills sentenced prominent sailor Robert Allen “Bob” Declercq of Grosse Pointe Farms to prison for 25 years minimum in August 2025 on two counts of criminal sexual conduct involving a child, and now the lawyer handling the appeal is raising questions about an alleged text exchange between the judge and a juror.
Based on the new claim, Declercq’s lawyer Michael Dezsi of Royal Oak has filed a motion for the judge to disclose the contents of an alleged text exchange with juror No. 43, Richard Hoffman, and recuse herself from the criminal case moving forward.
This latest development in the case involving Declercq, a former Morgan Stanley wealth manager expelled by the prestigious Bayview Yacht Club in Detroit after his conviction, must be addressed before considering the motion for a new trial, Dezsi said.
A hearing on the text issue is scheduled for mid-January at the courthouse in Mio.
Dezsi wrote in his motion dated Dec. 8, 2025 under the heading “Newly Discovered Evidence to Support Recusal”:
“On December 3, 2025, prior counsel, Ms. Shannon Smith, was contacted by an employee of the Court, Ms. Heather Blundell, who disclosed to Ms. Smith that Judge Morse-Bills was ‘texting’ one of the jurors who had been dismissed (it is unclear whether this text exchange between Judge Morse-Bills and the juror occurred before (or) after deliberations had commenced).”
The trial lawyer put Blundell in contact with Dezsi, and Blundell provided to Dezsi a sworn declaration, Dezsi wrote.
The alleged whistleblower stated in her declaration, “Judge Morse-Bills found it extremely amusing that ‘Hoff’ was texting her while I found it very odd that she was having ex-parte communication with a juror.”
Blundell, a district court clerk in Oscoda County, said that the judge told her Hoffman texted that he had always wanted to sit on a jury and was disappointed to be let go after sitting through the whole trial of the “big case,” according to the motion reviewed by Shifting Gears.
It is “unclear why Judge Morse-Bills would have had the juror’s phone number, or why the Judge would have been texting any juror(s),” Dezsi wrote.
The optics aren’t good and the situation merits explanation, he told me.
***
A courtroom observer who attended the trial told Shifting Gears on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, that the juror in question was one of two alternate jurors called off at the end of the trial in May, prior to deliberation. Jurors No. 43 and No. 84 were excused during a random drawing of numbers in open court, reducing the jury pool from 14 to 12 people. After they were excused, the courtroom observer said, the remaining jurors left to deliberate the case in the jury room and decide whether the defendant was guilty or not guilty. Shifting Gears reviewed court documents that confirmed the witness description of what occurred.
In addition, the courtroom observer said that juror No. 43, Hoffman, appeared to be taking a lot of notes during witness testimony.
At issue now is proving the existence of the text and, if proven, determining whether content was germane to the case or reflected bias toward the defendant.
‘In the name of justice’
Blundell, in her declaration, mirrored previous concerns voiced by the trial lawyer, saying, “Judge Morse-Bills actions towards Mr. Declercq and his attorney Shannon Smith were hard to watch. Judge Morse-Bills excessively rolled her eyes and at times was laser focused on every word that came out of Ms. Smith’s mouth, waiting to pounce on any and every possible utterance of objections from the State.” … (further stating, “I am compelled to come forward at this time in the name of justice. Everyone has the right to a fair trial and Mr. Declercq deserves the same. He did not receive a fair trial in Oscoda County or by Judge Casandra Morse-Bills.”).
During the trial, Smith made a motion for mistrial based on perceived prejudice, saying, “This court clearly hates me” — and that the judge “yelled” at Smith in front of the jury.
The judge responded, “I have not yelled during this trial, not once, because I don’t yell in my courtroom … (T)he only action I have taken is to keep you within the rules of evidence … me correcting you in the courtroom does not equate to me not liking you. I think you are fine … You keep interrupting me when I’m trying to make rulings in my court, which is part of my frustration,” according to court testimony.
Smith responded, “I’m not saying your yelling is in your voice getting loud. And the transcript does not capture this. Your tone makes it very clear that I am getting scolded. I am doing something wrong.”
The judge responded that she was explicitly working to be sure no legal errors or violations were presented during the trial that would provide grounds for appeal.
Juror No. 43: Prior to the start of the trial
During jury selection, defense lawyer Shannon Smith of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., thanked Juror No. 43 for his service in the U.S. Coast Guard. He disclosed that he is retired and running a coffee house as a father of two daughters, aged 15 and 20.
The motion mentions that Smith asked if the juror could be fair and impartial in the case involving sexual assault of a young girl and he answered yes. Smith said, “You heard all the questions I’ve asked, obviously, is there anything that you feel like we need to know about you?” The juror responded, “no” and said he based decisions on evidence.
The motion by Dezsi includes the transcript portion where jurors took an oath to perform their duty to try the case justly.
A small community
Morse-Bills is the only judge in Oscoda County, which had 8,219 residents in 2020, according to the U.S. Census. Community leaders say everyone knows everyone because northern Michigan families have lived in the area for generations.
Trial lawyers, both the prosecution and the defense, ask potential jurors specifically if they’re familiar with the people or incidents involved in the case.
The office of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel prosecuted Declercq for assaulting his 3-year-old granddaughter in the bathroom of his second home in Fairview, Mich.
Editor’s note: The victim’s family requested previously of Shifting Gears that graphic detail of the violations for which the defendant was convicted not be described in print.
The May 2020 assault carried a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years and a maximum sentence of 60 years for each of two counts to be served concurrently — with credit for time served. The judge noted that Declercq showed no remorse.
He is currently held in the Chippewa Correctional Facility in Kincheloe, Mich., in the Upper Peninsula. He turned 72 years old on Nov. 19, 2025.
Defense lawyers have maintained their client is innocent and the trial was unfair.
“Mr. Declercq moves the Court for an order compelling Judge Morse-Bills to produce any and all communications, including text messages, between herself and any jurors from Mr. Declercq’s trial (including the two dismissed jurors),” Dezsi wrote in the motion. “While this request may appear extraordinary, such discovery is necessary to ascertain the full extent and nature of all ex-parte judge-to-juror communications in this case.”
At issue now is how Morse-Bills will respond to the request for the alleged texts, whether she will recuse herself, whether the situation will be referred to another judge. A number of scenarios are possible.
A judge, a clerk and questions
Born and raised in Oscoda County, Morse-Bills is a former Oscoda County prosecutor listed in good standing by the State Bar of Michigan. She was elected judge in 2018 and won re-election to the non-partisan seat without opposition in 2024.
Shifting Gears reviewed 2018 campaign literature posted on the Casandra Morse-Bills for Judge website. It said, “I could write pages about my experience, training and legal successes; but, I understand that being a Judge requires much more than just a good resume. It certainly requires legal knowledge and ability, but also, equally important, it requires a strong foundation of integrity, character, fairness and a strong moral compass. Professionally and personally, I have always strived to not only display, but truly encompass all of these qualities. This community is more than my place of residence. It has always been and will always be my home. I care about the people and the future of our community because I, like you, am a member of this community. If elected I pledge to you that I will approach this position with knowledge of the law, respect and fairness for everyone.”
Blundell was hired as a district civil clerk on August 24, 2023, according to the Oscoda County Board of Commissioner’s minutes dated Sept. 12, 2023. She was hired as a non-union employee to work a standard 35 hours a week at a starting wage of $16.11 per hour plus benefits, according to the public record.
Upon request from Shifting Gears, a retired presiding superior court judge outside Michigan reviewed the latest defense motion outlining the alleged text concerns. The retired judge said a number of issues seem unusual; a complaint by anyone familiar with the court system would be forwarded to the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission as standard protocol, a process easily found online. Instead, according to court filings, the clerk went to the defense attorney, who notified the lawyer handling the appeal.
Yet, the reality is, people do fear retribution for whistleblowing.
The facts in this case continue to unfold.
Declercq was found guilty by an Oscoda County jury on May 2, 2025 and sentenced on August 18, 2025.
Dezsi wrote in his brief, “In deciding whether a judge has failed to avoid the appearance of impropriety, our Supreme Court considers whether an ordinary person might reasonably question the judge’s integrity, impartiality, or competence on the basis of the judge’s observable conduct.”
Still to be proven is the existence of the text and its contents.
More detail about next steps in the case will become clearer later this month.
Video surfaces after Detroit Free Press article
The Detroit Free Press wrote its first story about the Declercq case on Dec. 16, 2025 under the headline, “Judge draws scrutiny for texting juror in Grosse Pointe sailor’s trial.” It is the only story about the case that has appeared in the Free Press, based on a search history of the news site.
That day, Declercq’s trial lawyer shared on her Facebook page “Shannon Smith Law PC: The Unhinged Lawyer” the Free Press story. She wrote, “As defense lawyers, our main job is to ensure due process to our clients and call it out when people are not following the rules.”
The next day, on Dec. 17, the De Facto Media Group posted a 4-minute YouTube video about Morse-Bills titled, “Dirty Judge Caught Texting Juror during Trial!”
It had been viewed 1,461 times by Jan. 3, 2026. The subtitle: “Oscoda County Judge Casandra Morse-Bills is at it again! This time texting a juror during a trial. We investigate.”
The De Facto Media Group YouTube channel, which has posted 259 videos, says it’s run by an “independent journalist” who urges his 14,600 subscribers, “Support me and my fight against malicious prosecution and to promote transparency by subscribing and sharing.” The videos have generated more than 4 million views since 2017, according to YouTube.
Meanwhile, De Facto Media Group has been the focus of an “internet predator prevention” group.
Maximum Exposures Michigan, which has monitored internet activity since 2018, warned its 78,000 Facebook followers on Aug. 14, 2025: “A YouTube channel claiming to expose predators is allegedly being run by a convicted predator. After a video surfaced yesterday of a man accused of posting potty training photos of his own child online, we dug deeper — and what we found was shocking. The person behind the page De Facto Media Group, Mark Heath of Mio, was convicted on two counts of CSC (criminal sexual conduct) in Hawaii back in 2010. Despite his past, Heath calls himself an ‘independent journalist’ and has been operating the YouTube channel since September 2017.”
Shifting Gears confirmed that a Mark Heath of Mio is listed on the Michigan Sex Offender Registry with two counts of sexual assault.
The De Facto Media Group TikTok account, which has 23,400 followers and 365,300 likes, describes content as true crime, investigative journalism, exposing corruption, activist for our rights, former U.S. Army Cav Scout, 18 years sober/ex-prisoner.
The site also includes a gofundme link organized by Mark Heath (of Gaylord), dated March 2025. The post includes a plea for help in connecting with a young son living with his mother in California, titled, “Fight for Shiloh - Helping A Father Who Got Screwed.” The organizer says he is unable to keep up with child support, and donations go toward his son and the fight for his well-being.
More Declercq stories:
Shifting Gears has been the only media outlet to provide comprehensive coverage of the Bob Declercq case. Read about his conviction here. The crime victim here. Child witnesses here. The sentencing here. Postponement of a second sex assault trial here.
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Five stars. Another strong fact based investigative article on a very sad sexual abuse case. Thank you for continue to share information on the court proceedings. My best, Rick
Thank you so much for touching on Mark Heath's involvement. He hides behind the title investigative journalist when he's infact a convicted predator himself. Suspicious and ironic that the case he's trying to expose is a CSC case.