Testimony last wee by a now-14-year-old girl led to a decision to send a criminal sexual conduct case to Oakland County Circuit Court.
David N. Benton, 44, of Springfield Township, appeared before 52-2 District Judge Kelley Kostin on Feb. 10 for a preliminary examination on two counts of second degree criminal sexual assault against a child under age 13.
The felony charge describes unwanted touching with sexual intent, and carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
Kostin agreed to allow the youngster to testify in a closed courtroom concerning activities during numerous visits to Benton’s Springfield Township home between January 2000 and December 2001.
Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Hala Jarbou said the youth, whose father worked with Benton and lived in the same neighborhood, testified to multiple incidents of ‘piggy back? rides which led to Benton’s touching her in inappropriate areas of her body.
After about 35 minutes of closed door testimony and cross-examination, defense attorney Matthew Brown attempted to cast doubt on the girl’s story, claiming there were too few details to prove probable cause.
‘It’s not clear whether there was incidental contact,? Brown said to Kostin. ‘She didn’t know how long [the contact] was? She didn’t remember many of the details.?
Jarbou argued for ample evidence of the criminal activity.
‘We have a period of two years,? Jarbou said. ‘This wasn’t a one-time incident. This wasn’t an accident.?
Jarbou later said the prosecution did not present all the available evidence at the preliminary examination.
Benton still faces a preliminary examination on eight counts of possession of child sexually-abusive material, eight counts of using a computer to commit a crime, accosting and soliciting, and one count of possession of marijuana.
Feb. 10 was to be the preliminary examination on the computer-related charges, but attorneys agreed to an adjournment until March 4. Brown, only recently retained by Benton, has yet to view the images in evidence and the Oakland County sheriff detective in charge of the case was on vacation last week.
March 4 will also be the pre-trial conference date on the recent charge of accosting and soliciting, lodged after evidence that Benton allegedly sought to have his niece undress and allow herself to be videotaped in January 2003 while at his home just before they were scheduled to attend a funeral.
All the charges stem from a November 2004 investigation launched after a woman employed to clean Benton’s home discovered evidence of numerous images of child pornography on home computers. That led investigators to identify the two young victims of alleged inappropriate personal contact.
Kostin continued bond, which now totals $450,000 cash for the combined charges, and Benton remains lodged at the Oakland County Jail.