An Oxford man who spent years sexually assaulting a string of young boys is now facing life in prison.
Robert Basat, 50, was found guilty Thursday in Oakland County Circuit Court of five counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct and two counts of possessing child sexually abusive material.
‘He’s a predator,? said Assistant Prosecutor Cheryl Matthews. ‘Thank God he won’t have future victims.?
During the weeklong trial, four male victims and one female victim testified as to how Basat sexually assaulted them.
The male victims testified that Basat told them he needed to perform certain sexual acts with young boys or he would die. Basat also told his male victims he needed the semen of young boys to prevent his death.
Basat preyed on victims, typically boys between the ages of 9 and 12, who had no fathers or strong male role models in their young lives. He got close to his victims by befriending their parents to gain their confidence.
Although five victims testified, Matthews said she’s aware of nine victims total and Basat was allegedly working on a tenth when he was arrested last year at his residence in the Parkvilla Apartments on Pontiac St.
She said it was ‘heart-wrenching? to listen to the victims? testimony.
‘I teared up at the start of my closing,? Matthews said.
In addition to witness testimony, jurors were also shown a small sampling of the more than 100 ‘kiddie porn? images taken from Basat’s three computers.
Matthews, who’s been a prosecutor for 12 years, said this was one of the ‘top five most disgusting cases.?
Now that Basat’s been convicted, the prosecutor’s next goal is to ensure he never has the opportunity to victimize another child.
‘I want to ensure he dies in prison,? Matthews said.
To that end, Matthews will be asking Judge Rudy Nichols to give Basat a life sentence for one of the first-degree counts and 60-90 years for each of the other four first-degree counts.
The second-degree count carries a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in prison.
Basat is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Nichols on Oct. 17.