Na'Ziyah Harris murder suspect Jarvis Butts to be arraigned Friday in numerous cases
DETROIT (FOX 2) - Jarvis Butts, the man accused of sexually assaulting and murdering Na'Ziyah Harris, is expected to face a judge on Friday.
Butts, 41, of Highland Park, will be arraigned on charges stemming from three cases – Harris' murder and two other sexual assault cases.
He is facing first-degree premeditated murder, second-degree criminal sexual conduct, and child sexually abusive material for the murder of Harris, who was 13.
VIEW: Na'Ziyah Harris disappearance timeline
Harris was last seen getting on a bus on Jan. 9 in Detroit. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said Harris was texting with Butts and met up with him the day she disappeared.
Missing Na’Ziyah Harris: Man charged with murder, sexual assault of Detroit teen
More than nine months after Na'Ziyah Harris disappeared from Detroit, a suspect is facing charges for sexually assaulting and murdering the girl.
Her body was never found, but Worthy said the evidence, including Harris' clothing that was found after she disappeared, shows she was murdered.
Additionally, Worthy said Harris was pregnant when she was killed, and Butts was allegedly the unborn child's father, according to the prosecutor's office. Butts searched for abortions, abortion pills, and drinking red anti-freeze before the 13-year-old's death.
Worthy also charged Butts in connection with the sexual assault of two other girls. On Thursday, she announced that he was being charged with sexually abusing two additional girls under the age of 13.
The prosecutor said one of the victims, who is now 20, was allegedly abused between April 2012 and April 14, while the other victim, who is now 11, was abused from July 2015 until July 2017.
Na'Ziyah Harris' family on charges against Jarvis Butts: 'We suspected him from the beginning'
Jarvis Butts, 41, was charged with first-degree premeditated murder, second-degree criminal sexual conduct, and child sexually abusive material for the murder of 13-year-old Na'Ziyah Harris.
He has been charged with five counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct for those assaults.
Court records show that Butts also previously served time in prison for sexually assaulting a child in 2004.
"Mr. Butts targeted and befriended women to have sexual relationships with their young daughters," Worthy said. "He was a classic and expert groomer and pedophile."
According to the prosecutor, Harris knew Butts because he has children with her aunt. Harris' family said they had suspected Butts as the culprit from the start.
"We suspected him from the beginning considering his background, and things like that, that we've heard about him," her cousin Roxy said.