GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (UPI) -- A Michigan prosecutor said an 87-year-old man accused of soliciting a prostitute is getting "a pass" due to his age and will not be prosecuted.

Howard Klein, 87, who was cited June 26 in Grand Rapids on allegations of soliciting an undercover police officer posing as a prostitute, will not be prosecuted on the charge, Kent County Prosecutor William Forsyth said Tuesday.

"What would be the purpose in prosecuting him?" Forsyth was quoted as saying by Mlive.com. He wouldn't and shouldn't go to jail and 87 years without involvement in the criminal justice system has, in my opinion, earned him a pass.

Klein had faced a maximum of up to 93 days in the Kent County Jail if he had been convicted.

"I could see no compelling reason to continue to prosecute Mr. Klein on the ticket he was issued for accosting and soliciting," Forsyth said. He is 87 years old with absolutely no criminal record. In addition, I am told he struggles to some degree with dementia.

Klein was one of five people busted in the June 26 sting. Four people were taken into custody, and Klein was released with a citation due to his advanced age.

Klein said in an interview he had approached the undercover police officer because he thought he recognized her from church.

"I thought that I knew her. I didn't say nothing to her. I just said, 'Hi,' and nothing else and I left," he told WOOD-TV.

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