schuette wrigglesworth

Attorney General Bill Schuette (center), Ingham County Sheriff Gene Wrigglesworth (right) and Ingham County Detective Sgt. Amber Kenny-Hinojosa announce charges against Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings on March 14, 2016.

(Emily Lawler | MLive.com)

Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III in a mug shot on March 14, 2016.

LANSING, MI -- The top prosecutor in Ingham County is being prosecuted himself in what could be hundreds of prostitution incidents spanning three counties.

Stuart Dunnings III has served as Ingham County Prosecutor since 1997. He faces 15 charges across three counties over his alleged patronage of prostitutes between 2010 and 2015, according to Attorney General Bill Schuette's office.

He was arrested Monday in a coffee shop, officials said.

"There has been chatter over the years, but never any proof until several months ago when we started this investigation," said Ingham County Sheriff Gene Wrigglesworth.

Schuette's office said a 2015 FBI human trafficking investigation against Tyrone Smith led to Dunnings, who was allegedly a client of the trafficking ring.

FBI Senior Resident Agent Ted Docks said through that investigation, "we developed information we could not ignore involving a public official."

Both the FBI and Wrigglesworth gave information to Schuette's office about Dunnings' involvement with prostitutes.

Schuette said the case turned his stomach, and called on Dunnings to resign.

"The system in Michigan is not rigged. Not on my watch. It doesn't matter who you are... if you break the law there are consequences, period," Schuette said.

He encouraged people who may have been a victim or witnessed misconduct by Dunnings to contact the investigative team directly at (517) 241-6556.

Dunnings is facing the following charges, spanned across Ingham, Clinton and Ionia counties:

1 count of Prostitution/Pandering - Dunnings allegedly induced a woman to become a prostitute who had not previously been one. That charge is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

10 counts of engaging in the services of prostitution - Dunnings allegedly engaged or offered to engage the services of a prostitute on at least 10 occasions. This misdemeanor is punishable by 93 days in jail at a $500 fine.

4 counts of willful neglect of duty - Dunnings allegedly willfully neglected his duty to uphold the law by engaging in such activity, a misdemeanor punishable by one year and/or a $1,000 fine.

Dunnings' brother, Lansing attorney Stephen Dunnings, is also being charged with two counts of engaging the services of prostitution in connection with the investigation.

Emily Lawler is a Capitol reporter on MLive's statewide Impact Team. You can reach her at elawler@mlive.com, subscribe to her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter: @emilyjanelawler.