"These are among the most serious charges that we can charge somebody with,” says Jason Elmore, Wexford County Prosecutor.
This Manistee man was accused of more than a dozen crimes…most include sexual relationships with children.
The Wexford County Prosecutor accuses Jeremy Phillips of having sex with three young girls years ago.
He says they knew Phillips.
9&10’s Cody Boyer met with the prosecutor and a child advocacy center about what could lie ahead for those on the road to recovery.
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“The alleged activity occurred over a several years span of time,” Elmore says.
The prosecutor says Jeremy Phillip is accused of 10 different times where he inappropriately touched three girls he knew, each now serve as a charge for 2nd degree Criminal Sexual Conduct.
He says they were all 13 years old…or younger.
“We began with those three files and a total of five different felony charges,” Elmore says. “We actually left with a bind over or not only those charges, but several additional charges."
The charges stem to three different homes in Haring Township.
…Clues surfacing from one of the girls’ revelations during his preliminary examination.
“We actually broke out the testimony from one of the alleged victims in the case and demonstrated different specific events that we were able to identify,” Elmore says.
“If someone is an adult, doing that to a child, it’s never okay,” says Katy Sherwood, Northern Michigan Child Advocacy Center.
If the accusations are true, what happened could leave permanent damage.
The Northern Michigan Child Advocacy Center in Harrison says warning signs are easy to spot but hard to diagnose.
“Not only the impact that it has the day that it is happening but it is a long, turbulent path that’ll impact for the rest of their lives,” Sherwood says. “Starting to act out in school, starting to act out at home where it wasn’t known before. Suddenly being afraid of certain people."
…And if a child speaks up — listen.
“Even if it is just a hunch, don’t ignore it. Take action,” Sherwood says. “Belief is 100% what can help a child get through the situation."
Each 1st degree CSC charge is punishable by up to life in prison.
Phillips is also charged with witness intimidation and giving someone marijuana.
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