KENT COUNTY, Mich. -- A 35-year-old Indiana man is locked up inside the Kent County Jail after investigators said he drove to West Michigan to have sex with a 12-year-old girl.
According to the Kent County Sheriff's Department, Brian Patrick Carrier was arrested on April 9 in Fort Wayne.
Investigators said Carrier picked up the girl in Wayland on Dec. 21, 2014. They said he took her to the Baymont Inn in Byron Center, where they had sex twice, and showered together between each occurrence.
Capt. Kevin Kelley with KCSD, said Carrier met the 12-year-old girl online under the pretense that she was 17 years old. Still, he said Carrier will spend several years in prison if convicted.
"You are absolutely still responsible," Capt. Kelley said. "He’s being charged with three counts of CSC first degree. Each one of those carries a 25 year sentence."
According to court records, the 12-year-old was interviewed by Allegan County Safe Harbor, which investigates cases of child sexual abuse. While there, investigators said the girl told them she had sex with a man named Brad. Through cell phone records, vehicle records, and a credit card that was used to pay for the hotel room, investigators learned that Brad is actually Brian Carrier. They also said the 12-year-old girl had photos on her phone of "Brad" that depicted Carrier.
While he didn't know the details, Capt. Kelley said Carrier's arrest is part of a much larger investigation that's being handled by the Allegan County Sheriff's office.
Capt. Kelley said, that unfortunately, this type of assault is becoming less and less unordinary.
"This is something that the community and that parents especially need to be aware [of],"Capt. Kelley said. "They need to police their children's internet access, because this is becoming far more common than any of us would like. We have to just do a lot better job at policing our children at home while they're on the computer. "
During a probable cause hearing Wednesday, Carrier waived his preliminary hearing and was denied bond. FOX 17 reached out to the Allegan County Sheriff's office to learn more about the larger investigation that Capt. Kelley referred to. However, no one was available for comment.
