A 24-year-old Warren man is facing up to 15 years in prison after sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl at a Brandon Township home.
Willie James Marshall was arraigned Oct. 12 on one count of criminal sexual assault, third degree (person 13-15-years-old) by 52-2 District Court Magistrate Thomas Raguso. Marshall remains in the Oakland County Jail on a $50,000 cash bond, no 10 percent. He has waived his right to a pre-exam and the case is bound over to Oakland County Circuit Court.
According to police reports, a complaint was filed June 19 at the Brandon substation by the victim’s mother. The complainant said her 15-year-old daughter had gone to stay with her 21-year-old female cousin overnight the evening of June 17 in the 400 block of Oakwood Road. The victim recounted events and said her cousin had told her Marshall, her cousin’s boyfriend, wanted the victim to perform sex acts. She said her cousin tried repeatedly to talk her into it. When the assault was occurring, the victim said she was crying and told him to stop numerous times and called to her cousin, who was in the room, for help and her cousin did nothing. Later, the cousin hugged her and she and Marshall allegedly told her not to tell because no one would believe her.
The victim had texted a friend prior to the assault, telling what the cousin and Marshall wanted her to do, and was advised by the friend to call the police, but the 15-year-old didn’t know the address of the home.
Following interviews of the cousin and Marshall in July, warrants were issued in August. Marshall, who has a prior arrest record, was arrested by the Fugitive Apprehension Team on Oct. 11. His next court appearance is a pretrial conference scheduled for 1 p.m., Nov. 28, in front of Sixth Circuit Court Judge Michael Warren.