KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel along with the Kalamazoo County Sexual Assault Kit Initiative announced on Wednesday, May 3 the arrest and arraignment of a Milford man accused of raping a Western Michigan University Student.
29-year-old Caleb James Watson was arraigned in 8th District Court in Kalamazoo for the on-campus rape of the freshman back in the fall of 2013.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, Watson is charged with 4 counts of 1st degree Criminal Sexual Conduct and 1 count of Assault with Intent to Commit Penetration.
Authorities say the assault occurred in the victim’s dorm room when Watson, who was 20-years-old at the time, was an acquaintance of the 18-year-old victim. The went onto say the sexual assault resulted in both physical injury and long-term mental anguish to the victim.
“The work of our department, in collaboration with the SAKI units in Kalamazoo and elsewhere, continues to show sexual assault survivors that justice is still a viable pursuit, even ten years on,” said Nessel. “Our hope and goal is that this pursuit leads to aid the healing process for victims. Investigations, charges, convictions; these are important elements of a broader process of securing justice and helping victims to recover.”
Watson was arrested by the Michigan State Police Fugitive team in Livingston County on April 25th. He faces a maximum punishment of life in prison if convicted.
“This case exemplifies the long-term trauma that can stay with the victims of sexual assault,” said Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting. “Victims often continue to deal with the impact of sexual assault for years, and for some victims it becomes a life-long struggle. Helping those victims obtain a sense of justice, even years after their assault happened can be very important for their recovery. That is just one of the many reasons I am proud to be working with the Attorney General and our SAKI team on these difficult cases.”
The Kalamazoo SAKI Team is in the process of investigating approximately 225 cold-case sexual assaults that occurred in Kalamazoo County between 1976 and 2015.
To date, the Kalamazoo SAKI Team has obtained 14 convictions and has 11 other cases which have been bound over for trial in Kalamazoo County.
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