Michigan police found nearly 500 videotapes in the home of a rape suspect and now have to modernize them in order to see if he is responsible for assaults going back decades, officials said. Authorities found the tapes when they arrested Gilbert Conway in July on charges he raped six women between 2009 and 2018, authorities said. He's pleaded not guilty to 77 criminal counts, which include first-degree criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping. Lawmakers in Genesee County, Michigan, on Monday signed off on spending $15,000 to $20,000 to help investigators convert Conway's Hi8 videotapes into a modern digital format. Gilbert Conway of Flint, Michigan, has been arraigned on charges in connection with the rape of six women. Genesee County Sheriff's Office Hi8 tapes were typically used in 1990s camcorders. Genesee County prosecutor David Leyton said police could find “a whole lot more victims” of the 60-year-old Flint resident. "We believe he videotapes the sex assaults while he commits them. Once we view them, we are going to try and identify additional victims," Leyton told WEYI-TV. Flint police and FBI agents will examine the footage once it’s all been converted, officials said. "We're going to try to reach out to those victims if we can identify them and we're going to try and take statements from them and see that they were victimized." Conway's lawyer, Archie Hayman, said he has not yet seen anything on the videotapes. "As far as I know, Mr. Conway appears to be have been a hard-working individual with years of employment and a loving family man," said Hayman.<doc-sep>Gilbert Conway, 60, is charged in connection to six rapes. (CNN) — Police have recovered nearly 500 videotapes, many containing sexual acts, in the Flint, Michigan, home of a man charged in connection with six alleged rapes. The man is believed to have recorded the sexual assaults as he committed them, authorities said. Gilbert Conway, 60, is charged with 86 counts, including criminal sexual conduct in the first degree and kidnapping, in connection to the six alleged victims. The known incidents occurred between 2009 and 2018, though authorities believe the tapes will identify several if not hundreds more potential victims, according to Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton. Conway was first arrested and charged in July in connection to three alleged victims as a result of a Flint Police Department investigation. He was arraigned Tuesday in connection to three more. Conway has pleaded not guilty in all cases. His lawyer, Archie Hayman, called him “hard-working,” pointing to his long-time employment at General Motors, and said Conway “has family who loves him.” “Up to this point I have not seen any evidence of conduct of rape,” Hayman told CNN. Hayman said he has not seen the new videotapes recovered by police. County Prosecutor David Leyton requested $15,000 to fund the investigation due to the volume of evidence. The Genesee County Board of Commissioners set aside $20,000 to aid county prosecutors in reviewing the tapes – a process that will be conducted in tandem with the Flint Police Department. The nearly 500 tapes, containing 8 hours of video on each, will be transferred onto DVD discs and then reviewed, Leyton told CNN. “It’s a very resource-challenged police department. It’s going to be difficult. I may reach out to the Attorney General,” Leyton said. Conway remains in the Genesee County jail on bond. He’s scheduled back in court for a probable cause conference on October 18, according to court records.<doc-sep>Leyton on Monday requested $20,000 from the Genesee County Board of Commissioners to fund the transfer of the videos from the Hi8 cassette format to DVD. In his written request for the funds, he wrote that the Hi8 format is "susceptible to video deterioration and is extremely cumbersome for our investigators to review," MLive reported. “The need is immediate, urgent and critical to the investigation and our efforts to prosecute the suspect,” Leyton wrote. The board approved the funds. Leyton’s investigators, Flint police detectives and FBI agents will review the recordings once the transfer is complete. Leyton told ABC12 that each videotape runs eight hours. "We believe from looking at some of the Hi8 tapes that there are additional victims being sexually assaulted while being videotaped, and we want to be able to look at those videotapes and hopefully identify these additional victims," Leyton told the news station. Conway's attorney, Archie Hayman, told NBC News that he has not yet seen any of the videotapes. "As far as I know, Mr. Conway appears to be have been a hard-working individual with years of employment and a loving family man," Hayman said.<doc-sep>
On Monday, lawmakers in Genesee County, Michigan agreed to spend between $15,000 to $20,000 digitizing nearly 500 videotapes found in a suspected serial rapist's home. Authorities are having to digitize the tapes in order to see if Gilbert Conway was responsible for rapes that occurred decades ago, NBC News reported. Conway was arrested in July for six sexual assaults that took place between 2009 and 2018. He's not guilty to 77 counts, some of which include first-degree criminal sexual assault and kidnapping. "We believe he video tapes the sex assaults while he commits them. Once we view them, we are going to try and identify additional victims. We're going to try to reach out to those victims if we can identify them and were going to try and take statements from them and see that they were victimized," Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton told WEYI-TV. "Each one of those hi8 tapes runs at least eight hours," Leyton told WRJT-TV. "We believe from looking at some of the hi8 tapes that there are additional victims being sexually assaulted while being videotaped and we want to be able to look at those video tapes and hopefully identify these additional victims." Because of the number of potential victims, which could date back to the early 90s, police are asking anyone who believes they may be a victim to step forward. Conway's lawyer, Archie Hayman, said he has not yet seen anything on the videotapes. "As far as I know, Mr. Conway appears to be have been a hard-working individual with years of employment and a loving family man," Hayman told NBC News. The FBI will work with local law enforcement to review the footage once it's all digitized. If convicted, Conway could face life in prison.