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Man arrested on kidnapping and sexual assault charges in Battle Creek

It appears that an agreement was made for the woman to have sex with the suspect for money so the couple could have cash to buy gas to return to Jackson.
Credit: Trace Christenson/The Enquirer
A man is arrested after Battle Creek officers raided his home Sunday.

A 29-year-old Bedford Township man was arrested Sunday after a Jackson couple said they were held at his home and the woman was sexually assaulted.

Battle Creek police said the couple agreed to go to the suspect's home where he was going to have sex with the woman, but when the agreement changed, he held both victims at gunpoint and then sexually assaulted the woman.

Detective Sgt. Todd Elliott, supervisor of the detective bureau, said Battle Creek officers were called at 3:27 a.m. to the 1000 block of River Road for a report of prowlers.

"As the officer arrived, he was flagged down by two victims who were leaving the area in their vehicle," Elliott said.

Elliott said the 35-year-old Jackson man and his girlfriend, 24, met the suspect at Romantix, an adult entertainment store at 686-690 W. Michigan Ave. in Battle Creek.

A 29-year-old Bedford Township man was arrested Sunday after police said he held a couple at gunpoint and sexually assaulted a woman. (Photo: Trace Christenson/The Enquirer)

Elliott said it appears that an agreement was made for the woman to have sex with the suspect for money so the couple could have cash to buy gas to return to Jackson.

They agreed to go with the suspect to his home on River Road.

"He couldn't complete his end of the agreement," Elliott said, but when the couple attempted to leave, he went to another room and came back with a shotgun.

"He pointed it at them and said they were not leaving," Elliott said. "The male victim stepped between the suspect and the female, and the male was either ordered out of the house or ran out."

The male victim then went to neighbors seeking help because the suspect had kept the victims' phones in the house.

Inside, the suspect ordered to woman to at least partially disrobe, and she was sexually assaulted.

"She was then either let go or escaped," Elliott said, but the man fired a shot from his gun outside the house as she was leaving.

In the meantime, the man had been attempting to call police from a neighbor's home.

"That is what let to the prowling call," Elliott said.

Officers watched the house, but because a gun was involved, members of the Emergency Response Team obtained a search warrant and went to the residence around 9 a.m.

The man walked out as officers drove two military-style vehicles into the drive, and he was taken to jail on charges of felonious assault, kidnapping and criminal sexual conduct.

Elliott said the suspect has a minor criminal history of assault and battery and possession of marijuana but nothing involving kidnapping, weapons or sexual assault.

The woman was taken for a medical examination, but Elliott said neither she nor the male victim was otherwise injured.

Officers said the suspect's grandfather also lives at the house and was inside but is very hard of hearing and may not have known about the encounter.

Detectives were continuing their investigation, including a search of the home and property for any additional evidence. A shotgun was found in the house.

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