By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com

The Livingston County Prosecutor’s Office has been disqualified from a case involving a Brighton man facing 20 charges of sexual assault.

In February of 2020, the 42-year-old Brighton resident was bound over to circuit court on 10 charges of criminal sexual conduct. During an exam held in October, 10 new criminal sexual charges were added on top of that. According to court records, the charges are related to incidents that occurred in 2019 in which the suspect allegedly forced minors to perform various sexual acts. To protect the identity of the victims, WHMI is not identifying the accused.

On Thursday, Circuit Court Judge Miriam Cavanaugh signed an order granting the defendant’s motion to disqualify the Livingston County Prosecutor’s Office. A motion filed by the suspect’s attorney requested the removal because County Prosecutor David Reader, who formerly sat as a Circuit Court Judge, was on the bench for previous cases involving his client. The order also adjourns the defendant’s Motion to Quash until May 13th.

In an email to WHMI, Livingston County Assistant Prosecutor Carolyn Henry said that due to the case pending before the Court, their office respectfully withholds any further comment.