Man convicted on 9 counts in brutal 2012 assault and rape
A jury Thursday convicted a 25-year-old Ypsilanti Township man on nine felony charges for a brutal sexual and physical assault of a woman in March 2012.
Dajuan Roberts
Courtesy of the WCSO
Dajuan Roberts was found guilty on three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, two counts of assault with intent to do great bodily harm and assault with a dangerous weapon, domestic violence and assaulting, resisting or obstructing police, according to Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Geoffrey Fox. He was acquitted on one charge of assault with intent to murder and one charge of first-degree criminal sexual conduct.
The convictions stem from a brutal incident on March 21, 2012, in the 500 block of Emerick Street in Ypsilanti Township.
Fox said Roberts and his girlfriend were arguing about their sexual relationship. Enraged, Roberts struck the woman multiple times in the face and choked her to the point she almost blacked out, Fox said.
“This assaultive behavior went on for several hours and included Roberts threatening to kill the victim with a knife he was holding during the assaults,” Fox said in a statement.
The physical assaults soon escalated into sexual violence. Fox said Roberts forced himself on the woman while threatening to kill her if she didn’t do what he said.
Fox said Roberts cut the woman with the knife and heated up a wire hanger so he could “brand” her with his initials.
Roberts continued to assault and choke the woman until someone else in the home called 911, Fox said
When he heard deputies were at the home, Roberts fled through a window in the back bedroom but was eventually arrested a short distance away from the home, Fox said.
Records show he was arraigned on March 22, 2012, on all of the charges aside from the first-degree criminal sexual conduct charges, which came later. He’s being held in the Washtenaw County Jail on a $250,000 bond, court records show.
Roberts’ trial began on Monday and concluded Thursday with the guilty verdict on nine of the 11 charges he faced. Jail records show he’s scheduled to be in court for a probation violation hearing at 1:30 p.m. April 18. It's unknown when he is scheduled to be sentenced.
According to state records, Roberts was previously convicted of domestic violence in 2010 and pleaded no contest to two counts of assaulting and resisting or obstructing a police officer in 2011.
Roberts faces a maximum of life in prison on each of the first-degree criminal sexual conduct charges.
AnnArbor.com was not immediately able to reach Leon Weiss, Roberts' attorney, for comment on this story Friday morning.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
Regal
Fri, Apr 19, 2013 : 11:10 p.m.
it is really messed cant believe he could do something like that sad part is he is my cousin i remember when he was a lil boy chasen behind his brother dam boop
Stan Hyne
Sat, Apr 13, 2013 : 10:56 p.m.
Is he still in jail on 250,000 bond?
nickcarraweigh
Sat, Apr 13, 2013 : 6:47 p.m.
That rejected plea deal offer's probably looking a lot better along about now.
trespass
Sat, Apr 13, 2013 : 10:20 a.m.
How did this assault go on for several hours if there was someone else in the home?
Arieswoman
Fri, Apr 12, 2013 : 7:09 p.m.
And please toss away the keys!
LaMusica
Fri, Apr 12, 2013 : 5:37 p.m.
Now that he's been convicted, I hope he is put away for a LONG time.
mady
Sat, Apr 13, 2013 : 4:08 p.m.
Pooooor thing, maybe his mommy and daddy didn't love him enough(stinging sarcasm!) this sorry excuse for a man should never see the light of day again!
ArthGuinness
Sat, Apr 13, 2013 : 1:11 a.m.
There's no need for him to come back out at all. So if by LONG you mean FOREVER, I'm with you 100%.
Macabre Sunset
Fri, Apr 12, 2013 : 4:07 p.m.
I guess the obvious question is if he had these convictions for violence in 2010 and 2011, why in the world was he free to commit these crimes in 2012? Who was the judge who screwed up and caused so much harm to this woman?
Twanders
Sat, Apr 13, 2013 : 1:20 p.m.
It's not just the court system. It's the way our society views domestic violence. In reality Washtenaw County has a really good response to Domestic Violence and our criminal courts are much less lenient than other counties when it comes to DV. It also doesn't say he was previously charged with those crimes in Washtenaw County. Who knows where he commit them, who knows the circumstances. Sometimes victims don't want to press charges or testify (for good reason obviously). All of that has to be considered before accusing a judge of causing harm to someone.
kay
Sat, Apr 13, 2013 : 5:23 a.m.
These violent acts continue because the court system is too lenient. It is NOT working!!!!!!!!
pegret
Fri, Apr 12, 2013 : 4:30 p.m.
Agreed. Something went very wrong long before March 2012.