Detroit man arrested for allegedly sexually abusing, killing pregnant 13-year-old

DETROIT (TCN) -- Prosecutors are charging a 41-year-old man for allegedly sexually abusing, impregnating, and killing a missing 13-year-old who has not been seen since January.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a press conference Thursday, Sept. 26, that Jarvis Butts is being charged with first-degree premeditated murder, second-degree criminal sexual conduct, and child sexually abusive material in connection with the death of Na’Ziyah Harris. Butts is also being charged with multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct involving two other female victims who are now 20 and 13 years old.

Harris' grandmother reported her missing to the Detroit Public Schools Police on Jan. 9 when she failed to come home from school. Detroit Public Schools Police handed the case over to the Detroit Police Department in early February.

According to Worthy, several witnesses have corroborated that Harris and Butts met up after school on the day she disappeared. Butts reportedly checked into a motel that evening, and no one has seen or heard from her since. Harris’ body has never been found, but Worthy said evidence "shows overwhelmingly" that the teen is deceased.

Worthy said Harris went through "horrors" in her life, as she was allegedly exploited and molested by Butts. Butts allegedly started grooming her in 2022. Harris recently got pregnant with Butts' baby, which he reportedly knew about it, and she was in the process of trying to conceal it. Harris was reportedly "searching for ways to abort the baby," including drinking antifreeze and taking abortion pills.

In the other cases, Butts allegedly sexually abused an underage girl between 2012 and 2014 and another between 2015 and 2017. Worthy called him a "classic expert groomer and pedophile," adding, "Mr. Butts targeted and befriended women to have sexual relationships with their young daughters."

Michigan Department of Corrections records show Butts was sentenced in 2005 for criminal sexual conduct — person 13 through 15, and felony firearms offenses.

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