HARRISON TWP. (WWJ) -- Bond has been increased for a 23-year old man from Yemen who is charged with sexually assaulting a 15-year old girl at a park in Macomb County.
A $50,000 personal bond was upped to cash/surety only, and Abdulnasser Abdulah Muthana also now must wear a steel cuff GPS tether.
Muthana is facing a charge of fourth degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with the incident over the weekend at Lake St. Clair Metropark in Harrison Township.
Prosecutors said, on Saturday, May 10, three teenage girls were at the park when when Muthana allegedly made sexual gestures toward them. Prosecutors alleged that sometime later, Muthana approached the 15-year-old victim and groped her. The teen kicked Muthana in the groin and ran away.
Defense Attorney Bradley Friedman stressed that his client denies any wrongdoing.
While prosecutors said Muthana was "difficult" during the arrest, Friedman argued that police should have attempted to find an interpreter who spoke Arabic.
He argued that his client has lived in Detroit for three years, is married, works full-time with family, and has never been in trouble — but he doesn't speak English and was scared during his arrest.
"The way that this came out was a one-sided story because, again, the police officers could speak to the girls who spoke English, but no one could communicate with my client, and they didn't even bother to try," Friedman told the judge at a hearing Thursday. "Instead they took him to the hospital and drew is blood because they couldn't communicate with him and they thought he was acting goofy."
Friedman also noted that he objects to the way the victim and her friends have been referenced.
"The prosecutor wants to paint this as if my client was in a park touching little children playing on a playground; that is certainly not the case," Friedman said. "The allegations as far, as I know, is that these were teenagers."
Friedman said there's a different story to the victim's allegations that will come out at the probable cause conference, set for May 27.
Prosecutors also requested a mental evaluation in the emergency bond hearing petition, but were denied.
The charge against Muthana carries a two-year sentence and mandatory reporting as a tier II offender under the Sex Offender Registration Act.