Sheriff: Suspect with filed teeth threatened to ‘rip out victim’s throat’
By WNEM Digital
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GENESEE CO., Michigan (WNEM) — A 36-year-old man has been arrested after grooming a victim, barricading her in a house, and sexually assaulting her over a period of three weeks, according to Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson.
The victim, a 20-year-old woman, was walking down the street the week of Thanksgiving when the suspect, 36-year-old Michael Barajas, approached her in a car, Swanson said. The woman was recently kicked out of her house and Barajas offered her a shower, food, and warmth, Swanson added.
The woman was barricaded inside the house as soon as she stepped inside, with locks on the doors and windows screwed shut, Swanson said.
She was tied to a bed and locked inside a room where she was sexually assaulted and trafficked by multiple suspects, Swanson said.
Barajas told the victim if she didn’t do everything he told her to do, that he would bite her neck and rip out her throat with his teeth he filed down to points, Swanson said.
The victim attempted to escape on three occasions. The first time, she ran out of an open door but she was shot at and brought back to the residence, Swanson said.
The second time, she ran away and the suspects dragged her back inside, Swanson said.
The third time was due to a medical emergency. Nurses at Hurley Medical Center recognized the victim was being abused and they contacted GHOST. That happened on Dec. 8.
Barajas was arrested that same day. He was arraigned on Dec. 11.
He has been charged with human trafficking, kidnapping, first-degree criminal sexual conduct, possession of methamphetamine, and assault. He is being held on a $245,000 bond.
The case remains under investigation.
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