Detroit man charged with sexual assault and murder of missing pregnant 13-year-old

A Detroit man was hit with serious allegations because of his connections in the disappearance 13-year-old Na’Ziyah Harris.

To Friday afternoon, that Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office charged 41-year-old Jarvis Butts with first-degree premeditated murder, second-degree criminal sexual conduct and child sexual abuse. Butts was arrested shortly afterwards and is expected to appear in court again the next day October 4th for a probability conference.

Harris and Butts reportedly knew each other because he has children with Na’Ziyah’s biological aunt. The two allegedly met after Harris left school January 9th. Prosecutors allege that Harris joined Butts and his colleague and went to their auto repair shop. There was evidence that Butts later checked into a motel. However, Harris was never seen again after that day.

The evidence in this case will clearly demonstrate that the defendant’s alleged actions were beyond predatory,” said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. “They were greedy – he skillfully took care of Na’Ziyah and chased her out. We will prove that he killed young Na’Ziyah after finding out she was pregnant with his child when she was 13.”

Butts allegedly began sending Harris sexually explicit messages September 2022. A year later, Harris reportedly sent Butts a message revealing that she hadn’t gotten her menstrual cycle. Two months later, Butts learned Harris was pregnant. To make matters worse, phone records showed Butts had researched abortion clinics online. Butts was also said to have been in the area the day after Harris’ disappearance Rouge River, where Harris’ clothing was found.

Aside from Harris’ case, Butts is also charged in two separate cases for allegedly sexually abusing two other girls. The first victim claims Butts attacked her April 2012 to April 2014. As a result, Butts faces one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and three counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. In the second case, the 13-year-old victim claims she was attacked by Butts July 2015 to July 2017. He is also charged with one count of second-degree sexual conduct with a child under 13 years old.

Although Harris’ body was never found, prosecutors believe she is dead based on the extensive evidence.