(WWJ) An Oak Park man has pled no contest in connection to the 2021 kidnapping, rape and torture of a 9-year-old girl, prosecutors said.
The Oakland County Prosecutor's Office charged Aaron Deneal McDonald with Kidnapping, three counts of First Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct, Assault By Strangulation and and Torture.
Prosecutors said, on October 10 2021, the defendant lured the 9-year-old child into his car. He then drove her to a house in Detroit where he sexually assaulted her, they said.
According to prosecutors, the girl was able to escape after the defendant fell asleep. Local residents found her and contacted police.
Police said the little girl was brave throughout this traumatic time, speaking and cooperating with detectives.
Multiple law enforcement agencies worked together to identify the defendant, and they arrested him "without incident" five days later; prosecutors said.
“The young victim in this case suffered unimaginable harm at the hands of the defendant,” Prosecutor Karen McDonald said in the release. “No child should have to endure what she went through. Due to her extraordinary bravery and determination, she saved her own life, and she may have saved other children from a similar fate."
Aaron McDonald will stay at the Oakland County Jail until sentencing, which is slated for May 2nd.
Prosecutor McDonald also thanked everyone involved in the case: "I commend the collaboration among the various law enforcement agencies involved in this case and the Farmington Hills Police Department for their tireless work in bringing Aaron McDonald to justice for his heinous acts against this young child.”