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15-year-old girl sexually assaulted at Lake St. Clair Park
The suspect is a 23-year-old from Detroit. He’s been arraigned on criminal sexual conduct charges, but according to the prosecutor, even if he’s convicted, the punishment won’t fit the crime.
MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - Macomb County officials say a man is accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl while she was at Lake St. Clair Metropark.
According to the prosecutor, the girl fought back, and police made an arrest.
What they're saying:
At Lake St. Clair Metropark over the weekend, a 15-year-old girl was with two other girls her age when it was alleged that 23-year-old Abdulnasar Muthana started sexually harassing them, making lewd gestures.
Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido says it escalated from there, saying Muthana touched her backside.
"And then subsequently tried to reach into her pants," said Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido. "I don’t know why people do that.
Lucido continues, saying the victim fought back.
"She kicked him in the groin to get away from him," he said. "That is the right thing to do."
Dig deeper:
Metropark police worked with Macomb County Sheriff's Deputies to track Muthana down and arrest him. But during his arraignment, the prosecutor was left less than satisfied.
"Now he sits on a $50,000 personal bond released without a tether. To go back, I don’t get it," Lucido said
On top of that, Lucido says even if they get a conviction for this crime and the max penalty, two years in prison, it won’t fit the crime in his view.
But he says his hands are tied.
"Our laws in this state need to be refined, and here is why. If people think they have that ability just to take from another human being, then we charge the max we could under the law."
There are different levels of criminal sexual conduct charges.
"Touching, on the behind, and attempting to put your hands down somebody's pants is the two-year," he said. "We can’t go anymore than the law provides."
The age of the victim, being 15, plays a role as well.
"If the child was under 13 years of age, this would have been a 15-year felony," he said. "If you don’t like that amount of time, speak to your legislators to change the law," he said.
What's next:
A conviction in this case would mean the suspect is listed on the sex offender registry.
The case will be back before a judge later this month.