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Hamtramck Man Charged in Abduction and Sexual Assault of 16-Year-Old Student

Prosecutors emphasize a fast rescue enabled by student phone tracking with help from an alert store clerk.

Overview

  • Wayne County prosecutors charged Donald James Joseph Arthur Fields, 48, with kidnapping, two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, felonious assault, three felony firearm counts, and felon in possession, with arraignment expected Thursday morning.
  • The case stems from a bus-stop abduction in Hamtramck, which occurred Monday around 7 a.m. near Edwin and Brombach as the student waited for school transportation.
  • Investigators say Fields pressed a handgun to the teen’s back, forced her into a van, and sexually assaulted her inside the vehicle.
  • Students at Frontier International Academy used the girl’s phone location to guide police to a Detroit gas station on Conant Street, where the victim mouthed “help” to clerk Abdulrahman Abohatem who moved her to safety.
  • Police detained Fields at the station, the police chief said the suspect and victim were strangers, and the prosecutor praised the teen’s quick thinking as key to her rapid rescue.