The Ypsilanti man who allegedly sexually assaulted three teenage boys and possibly exposed them to HIV will stand trial in January.
Leonardo Christian
Courtesy of WCSO
Leonardo Christian, 53, will face trial in Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge Donald Shelton’s courtroom at 8 a.m. Jan. 22. He appeared in court for a brief pretrial hearing Tuesday.
Christian is accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy who he met when he gave the boy’s family free tickets to a holiday meal he organized in Ypsilanti. After Christian was charged in that case, two 15-year-old boys came to police and reported being sexually assaulted by Christian in 2006.
The 14-year-old boy was 13 when the alleged assaults began.
He’s charged with four counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with victims between 13 and 15 years old, two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct with a victim between 13 and 16 years old, three counts of sexual penetration by a person with AIDS with an uninformed partner, criminal sexual conduct with the intent of sexual penetration, second-degree criminal sexual conduct and two counts of accosting children for immoral purposes.
Those 13 charges are spread across two criminal cases.
Christian was a well-respected figure in Ypsilanti before being charged in the case. He held annual holiday meals at Korey’s Krispy Krunchy Chicken and Coops Charity Poker Room and was a regular fixture at Ypsilanti City Council meetings.
Michael Vincent, Christian’s attorney, has said Christian maintains his innocence and denies the charges.
Christian is being held in the Washtenaw County Jail on a $50,000 cash bond. He will be back in court for a final pretrial hearing at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 18.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.