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Na’Ziyah Harris
WXYZ investigative reporter Ross Jones reports that Detroit police failed to investigate a 2022 claim that Na’Ziyah Harris had been inappropriately touched by Jarvis Butts,42, who is charged with killing and sexually abusing her last year.
In January 2024, Na’Ziyah Harris, 13, got off her school bus and was never seen again.
“We just didn’t do enough with it,” Assistant Chief Charles Fitzgerald told Jones on Tuesday when asked why the department didn't investigate the sexual abuse allegation involving the teen.
“We could have done better, no question,” he said, adding that the department has since implemented new policies to ensure the same mistake doesn’t happen again.
Authorities have alleged that Butts, who knew Harris' family members, allegedly groomed the girl starting in 2022. They say she was pregnant and that Harris was allegedly the father.
Jones reports that Butts was named in at least five Children’s Protective Services complaints since 2015, including one that alleged Butts had inappropriately touched Na’Ziyah Harris in 2022.
Jones reports:
Records show that CPS investigated the allegation against one of the girls—who made no disclosures about any abuse—but not Na’Ziyah. However, CPS officials did share the alert naming Na’Ziyah with Detroit police in the form of an LEN (Law Enforcement Network).
But the department never investigated, at least with respect to Na’Ziyah.
