WA man pleads not guilty to kidnapping Michigan girl

Name: Pierce County man denies kidnapping charge
Uploaded: 2024-10-17T19:07:16-07:00
Description: A Pierce County man pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping a child from her home in Michigan.

Pierce County man denies kidnapping charge

A Pierce County man pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping a child from her home in Michigan.

TACOMA, Wash. - A Pierce County man pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping a child from her home in Michigan.

26-year-old Benjamin Wier is accused of driving more than 4,000 miles round trip to bring a 13-year-old girl to his home in Spanaway for sex.

Wier appeared at the Pierce County Courthouse on Thursday with his defense attorney.

"Mr. Wier has zero criminal history," the defense attorney argued.

A missing child alert was first released in central Michigan back in August. Police there said the 13-year-old victim was last seen the morning of July 31, leaving her family’s home with an unknown male, who authorities later identified as Wier.

The defense claimed the child packed a bag and ran away from home prior to Wier traveling to Michigan to pick her up.

"The days leading to this incident, there had been numerous communications between ‘EM’ and the defendant, Mr. Wier, that she wanted Mr. Wier to pick her up and be driven to Washington with him," said the defense attorney.

During an investigation, detectives said they found illicit messages between the child and the 26-year-old on the girl’s phone, sent over Snapchat.

Detectives found Wier’s Washington address, then contacted Pierce County Sheriff’s deputies to track him down in August. Officials said he was at his grandmother’s house in Spanaway, and the girl was also there.

In court documents, the girl told deputies Wier earned her trust over a four-month period on Snapchat where she opened up to him about not getting along with her family. Investigators said Wier eventually turned their chats to sex and sent her nude photos.

Court documents stated during questioning, Wier admitted to having sex with her, knowing she was underage, and allegedly told deputies he was in love with the girl.

"There is no danger of him committing any violent offenses. The alleged victim in this case is back out-of-state," said the defense attorney, during a request to release Wier on personal recognizance.

The 13-year-old girl has since returned home to Michigan. Now, the court is trying to determine the next steps for Wier. His attorney argued the case should be dismissed. The defense stated there was no evidence proving he kidnapped her, but rather she made her own decision to leave home.

The court denied their dismissal request, and extensively debated with the defense on the manner of the child’s restraint and liberty.

Prosecutors said Wier posed a concern to the community and a flight risk.

"Yes, this defendant has no criminal history. However, as alleged here, he was willing to drive 34 hours, approximately, to pick up his victim and bring her back to Washington state," said a prosecutor. "There is significant concern that he is both a flight risk, as well as a risk to the community, given the lengths he took in this case."

The judge said, given the facts in this case against Wier, the original bail amount of $150,000 was set too high, and reduced it to $75,000. The judge explained he did this because Thursday was actually the first time any judicial officer reviewed the bail decision.

The judge denied Wier’s request to be released from custody on personal recognizance. The judge also ordered Wier not to contact the victim or other minors.