YPSILANTI, Mich. – A 35-year-old man has been charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl with autism in Ypsilanti, officials said.
Police were called May 20 to a home in Ypsilanti on reports of a missing 11-year-old girl.
“The child was abducted from Ypsilanti in May 2022,” Assistant Washtenaw County Prosecuting Attorney Amy Reiser said. “She left home on her bike. Her mother woke up at 11 p.m. to find her bike and she was gone. She was dropped off the next morning in Ypsilanti Township by a green vehicle and neighbors found her outside and immediately called 911.”
The girl was located May 21 and immediately taken to Mott’s Children’s Hospital for a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner test, according to Reiser. That test found that she had been sexually assaulted by Brandon Hutson, authorities said.
Hutson, 35, is accused of abducting the girl after she snuck out of her home. He sexually assaulted her before dropping her off the following day, officials said.
Hutson was arraigned Wednesday (Aug. 24) at the Washtenaw County Jail on charges of kidnapping, first-degree criminal sexual assault, and unlawful imprisonment.
The kidnapping and criminal sexual assault charges are both life offenses, and the unlawful imprisonment charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, according to authorities.
Magistrate Elisha Fink set bond at $250,000, cash/surety, no 10%. If released, Hutson isn’t allowed to have contact with the victims, possess weapons or drugs, or leave Michigan without the court’s permission.
A probable cause conference is scheduled for 9 a.m. Sept. 1.
