close
close

Na'Ziyah Harris murder suspect Jarvis Butts is scheduled to be arraigned on numerous counts Friday

Jarvis Butts, the man accused of sexually assaulting and murdering Na'Ziyah Harris, is expected to face a judge on Friday.

Butts, 41, of Highland Park, is charged with three counts: the murder of Harris and two other counts of sexual assault.

He is charged with first-degree premeditated murder, second-degree criminal sexual conduct and sexually abusive material for the murder of Harris, who was 13 years old.

VIEW: Timeline of Na'Ziyah Harris' disappearance

Harris was last seen boarding a bus in Detroit on January 9th. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said Harris texted with Butts and met with him the day she disappeared.

Her body was never found, but Worthy said the evidence, including Harris' clothing found after her disappearance, showed she was murdered.

Additionally, Worthy said Harris was pregnant when she was killed and Butts was allegedly the father of the unborn child, prosecutors said. Butts was seeking abortions, abortion pills and drinking red antifreeze before the 13-year-old's death.

Worthy also accused Butts in connection with the sexual assault of two other girls. On Thursday, she announced that charges would be filed against him for sexually abusing two other girls under the age of 13.

The prosecutor said one of the victims, now 20 years old, was allegedly abused between April 2012 and April 14, while the other victim, now 11 years old, was abused from July 2015 to July 2017.

He is charged with five counts of second-degree sex crimes and one count of first-degree sex crimes for those attacks.

Court records show Butts was previously imprisoned for sexually assaulting a child in 2004.

“Mr. Butts targeted and befriended women to engage in sexual relationships with their young daughters,” Worthy said. “He was a classic and experienced dog groomer and pedophile.”

According to prosecutors, Harris knew Butts because he had children with her aunt. Harris' family said they suspected Butts as the perpetrator from the beginning.

“We suspected him from the beginning, given his background and things like that we heard about him,” said her cousin Roxy.