Teh One Who Knocks
03-20-2018, 11:59 AM
Trace Christenson, Battle Creek Enquirer
https://i.imgur.com/5HSJ90Zl.jpg
Charges were issued Thursday and a 33-year-old Marshall teacher was arraigned on charges he had sex with a 16-year-old female student.
Jason Bushong of Battle Creek was arraigned in Calhoun County District Court on one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Prosecutor David Gilbert said the allegation is that Bushong had sex with the girl beginning Dec. 1 when she was 15. Because she was under the age of consent he is charged with first degree criminal sexual conduct and faces up to life in prison if convicted on that charge.
He is charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a 15-year maximum prison sentence, because after the girl reached the age of 16, as a teacher he was still in a position of influence over her.
Gilbert asked Magistrate Joe Brutsche for a high cash bond because of the young age of the victim and said "he has attempted to contact her and other people have been approached in the same manner. He is a teacher and the allegations are that he was preying on students when they were 15 and 16 years of age."
Defense attorney Aaron Bartell argued that while one of the charges is a life offense, "it is my understanding it is a non-assaultive allegation."
Bartell said his client was not a flight risk because he has family, including two children, ages two and five, living in the area.
"He is not a danger to the community," Bartell said.
Brutsche set bond at $100,000 cash and said if he is released Bushong is not to have contact with anyone under the age of 16.
Bushong was arrested after Calhoun County Sheriff Department deputies and officers from the Marshall Police Department began an investigation Tuesday about a sexual relationship between Bushong and the girl.
The girl's mother contacted police after finding her daughter and Bushong in a car at his family's residence on Halbert Road in Bedford Township.
Sheriff Matt Saxton said it appears that Bushong had sex with the girl in Marshall and at a residence on Halbert Road in Bedford Township.
Bushong has been held in the county jail since his arrest. Investigators have executed a pair of search warrants at the Halbert Road home and at Bushong's former residence on Allen Street in Marshall. Phones and computers have been seized as part of the investigation.
Bushong is scheduled to appear for a preliminary examination April 3 before District Judge Frank Line.
https://i.imgur.com/5HSJ90Zl.jpg
Charges were issued Thursday and a 33-year-old Marshall teacher was arraigned on charges he had sex with a 16-year-old female student.
Jason Bushong of Battle Creek was arraigned in Calhoun County District Court on one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Prosecutor David Gilbert said the allegation is that Bushong had sex with the girl beginning Dec. 1 when she was 15. Because she was under the age of consent he is charged with first degree criminal sexual conduct and faces up to life in prison if convicted on that charge.
He is charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a 15-year maximum prison sentence, because after the girl reached the age of 16, as a teacher he was still in a position of influence over her.
Gilbert asked Magistrate Joe Brutsche for a high cash bond because of the young age of the victim and said "he has attempted to contact her and other people have been approached in the same manner. He is a teacher and the allegations are that he was preying on students when they were 15 and 16 years of age."
Defense attorney Aaron Bartell argued that while one of the charges is a life offense, "it is my understanding it is a non-assaultive allegation."
Bartell said his client was not a flight risk because he has family, including two children, ages two and five, living in the area.
"He is not a danger to the community," Bartell said.
Brutsche set bond at $100,000 cash and said if he is released Bushong is not to have contact with anyone under the age of 16.
Bushong was arrested after Calhoun County Sheriff Department deputies and officers from the Marshall Police Department began an investigation Tuesday about a sexual relationship between Bushong and the girl.
The girl's mother contacted police after finding her daughter and Bushong in a car at his family's residence on Halbert Road in Bedford Township.
Sheriff Matt Saxton said it appears that Bushong had sex with the girl in Marshall and at a residence on Halbert Road in Bedford Township.
Bushong has been held in the county jail since his arrest. Investigators have executed a pair of search warrants at the Halbert Road home and at Bushong's former residence on Allen Street in Marshall. Phones and computers have been seized as part of the investigation.
Bushong is scheduled to appear for a preliminary examination April 3 before District Judge Frank Line.