BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A judge has decided that there is enough evidence to send a Detroit police officer to trial in a child sex abuse case.
Update: Detroit police officer cleared of criminal sexual misconduct charges
The decision came after a 15-year-old high school student testified that Michael Anthony Carson sexually abused her for years.
Carson is a family member of hers. He has been charged with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a minor.
She testified that she was six years old when Carson began ordering her to perform oral sex. She said she was 10 years old when Carson began sexual penetration almost daily.
The girl’s mother also testified on Thursday. She said she wasn’t aware of the abuse until recent years, but didn’t report it to police until months later -- in January 2022.
“I was in shock (and) denial),” her mother testified.
Carson was arrested and charged on April 1.
“The allegations stemming from this investigation, which have spanned several years, are disturbing and do not represent the overwhelming majority of the hardworking men and women of the Detroit Police Department,” Detroit police Chief James White said in a statement in April. “The DPD will continue to cooperate with the investigation.”
Carson had worked with the Detroit Police Department for 20 years and was placed on administrative leave without pay.
“These are just allegations right now,” Carson’s defense attorney Lillian Diallo said.
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