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Posted on Fri, Aug 31, 2012 : 1:02 p.m.

Ypsilanti man charged in sexual assault of 14-year-old boy who was invited to annual Christmas event

By John Counts

leonardo_christian.jpg

Leonardo Devinci Christian

AnnArbor.com file photo

Editor's note: The headline has been changed for clarity.

An Ypsilanti man who puts on an annual Christmas dinner for hundreds of people has been charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy he met through the community event.

Ypsilanti police arrested 53-year-old Leonardo Devinci Christian Wednesday after receiving a tip from Child Protective Services.

On Friday, he was charged with three felonies and two high court misdemeanors, according to police. He is being held in the Washtenaw County Jail on a $50,000 cash bond.

One of the charges will be criminal sexual conduct of a minor/attempted sexual penetration with an uninformed partner, according to Ypsilanti police.

Interviews with the boy revealed numerous instances where the victim was allegedly sexually assaulted at Christian's home in the 10 block of South Normal Street in Ypsilanti starting when the boy was 13. Police said they believe incidents started in November 2011 and stopped last month.

Police say the relationship started when Christian gave the boy and his family free tickets to the Christmas dinner he sponsors every year. AnnArbor.com has reported on the dinner.

The name of the boy is not being released because he is both a juvenile and the alleged victim of a sex crime.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.


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John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.

Comments

sahm

Fri, Aug 31, 2012 : 6:44 p.m.

This story is really sad! I just hope that someone else steps up to continue this Christmas Dinner. The atrocious acts of one individual do not have to halt tremendous efforts of all of the other willing volunteers and businesses.

music to my ear

Fri, Aug 31, 2012 : 5:51 p.m.

and my children always wonder, why I as a parent were so over protective. these kids nowadays have to really be careful, and parents always know where your young kids are, its not safe anywhere. lock up the pervert when found guilty, throw away the key and lets hope he gets judge Brown, and not melinda morris

music to my ear

Fri, Aug 31, 2012 : 6:20 p.m.

yes your right its not just kids today lets say more kids are comming foward and telling which is good in order to protect more kids or young adults

Billy Bob Schwartz

Fri, Aug 31, 2012 : 6:02 p.m.

Sadly, it isn't just kids today. The fortunate thing is that many people are willing to deal with it without sweeping it under the rug. Like other forms of sexual viciousness, there are ways of dealiing with it without humiliating the family and friends. It's not the boy's fault. I hope he and his family (and the rest of the alleged victims of this man, if there are any and they come forward,) will stay strong and get through this awful experience soon and well.