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Horrific details revealed during Jarvis Butts arraignment
The defendant stood mute during the hearing, waiving the formal reading of the charges while in court. Already serving time for a separate conviction, his defense attorney did not object to prosecutor's request that he remain in custody. He is facing various criminal sexual conduct charges from three separate cases.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - Jarvis Butts, the man accused of sexually assaulting and murdering Na'Ziyah Harris, was ordered held in custody during his arraignment on three criminal sexual conduct cases.
Butts stood mute during the hearing, waiving the formal reading of the charges while in court. Already serving time for a separate conviction, his defense attorney did not object to prosecutor's request that he remain in custody.
The victims include Harris, his biological daughter, and a minor who was the daughter of a former girlfriend, prosecutors said in Detroit court Friday afternoon. Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Tina Ripley referred to Butts as a "serial child rapist" and "absolutely a danger to the community."
The 41-year-old was identified as the suspect in the case earlier this week when the Wayne County Prosecutor announced charges of murder and criminal sexual conduct against Butts, a resident of Highland Park.
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. According to Ripley, Butts was supposed to turn himself into the authorities to serve a prison sentence on the same date before it was moved.
"While her body has not been found, evidence points to only one outcome," Ripley said.
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.
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 earlier this week. "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.
His next court date is a probable cause conference on Oct. 4.
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