(WWJ) A Western Michigan woman saw the man who “made her life Hell” sentenced to prison, thanks to DNA evidence from a sexual assault kit discarded for nearly a decade.
Special Assistant Attorney General Erin House read the woman’s victim impact statement on her behalf in a Kalamazoo County courtroom.
“To the monster who now will live behind bars: I hope you enjoy it,” the statement read in part. “You made my life hell for too long and today I win…”
Brad Risner, 29, of Coldwater pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal sexual conduct as a second habitual sex offender last month. He also faces charges for multiple sexual assaults in Jackson and Calhoun counties, according to the Michigan Attorney General Office.
Dana Nessel’s office told WWJ the survivor initially reported the case in 2013 and underwent a sexual assault kit. However, investigators never tested the kit—dismissing it as a “he said, she said case.”
The identification was made under The Kalamazoo Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI). The program, started in 2016, has secured the funding and manpower to process more than 3,000 previously discarded sexual assault kits, according to a Kalamazoo County government press release. The funding was provided to the Michigan State Police by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Justice Assistance.
A Michigan law passed in 2015 made it a requirement that police submit all sexual assault kits within 14 days of receiving them; and the crime lab must test them within 90 days.
This case is the eleventh SAKI investigation to result in charges, in its handling of eleven cases involving Risner.
“During the course of the Kalamazoo County SAKI investigation, investigators identified ten other women who had been sexually and/or physically assaulted by Risner between 2005 and 2018. Most of these crimes had never been reported to police,” the release read.
Later this month, Risner is due to start trial for one sexual assault that happened over a decade ago in Jackson County. He is also facing charges for criminal sexual conduct 15 years ago in Calhoun County.
Risner was originally charged in the current case in 2019. His trial was delayed by the pandemic. A new trial date has not been set.
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