Imlay City Man Charged with Sixteen Felonies Including Trafficking and Harboring a Runaway
In addition to the substantial charges that 49-year-old Roger Reid from Imlay City is already facing, authorities have now added a further sixteen felonies to that count. Reid is accused of harboring an underaged runaway from Detroit, and also of trafficking her sexually.
Court records show that Reid was bound over for trial at a recent preliminary hearing. He was initially charged with six counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, along with single counts of providing a controlled substance to a minor, child abusive commercial activity, accosting a child for immoral purposes, and harboring a runaway.
However, since that time, the Lapeer County Prosecutor’s Office has added a substantial number of new charges to the list. Reid is now also facing an additional fourteen charges of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, and two counts of delivery of marijuana to a minor. All sixteen charges are felonies and, if convicted, Reid is looking at many decades, if not life, in prison.
The charges are the result of an investigation that began back in early December, when the Canadian Border Authorities encountered Reid with a minor. Because of Reid’s status as a sex offender, and the age of the girl he was with, they contacted the Michigan State Police and reported the situation.
A subsequent investigation revealed that the girl was a 15-year-old runaway from Detroit. Once officers questioned her, they learned that Reid had given her drugs, and trafficked her in return for money. The girl, who had been living with Reid for about a month, has since been returned to her family. But Reid remains in the Lapeer County Jail, where he will likely stay until his trial. The Judge set his bond at $250,000.
As of now, very few details from this case have been released to the public. No one knows, for example, how Reid and the girl met, or how he acquired the alleged clients to whom he is accused of trafficking the runaway. Reid’s next court appearance is scheduled for January 25th, before Circuit Court Judge Nick Holowka.