Reed pleads guilty to assault

By Kristen Beaumont

Daily Staff Reporter

A former University employee charged with assaulting a 14-year-old boy in a Pittsfield Township Park in September pleaded guilty to two charges Tuesday.

Brian Reed, a Ypsilanti resident who served as the University's coordinator of the Student Organization Account Services, pleaded guilty to assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct and to accosting a minor for immoral purposes.

The first charge is a 10-year felony and the second is a misdemeanor charge that carries a maximum sentence of one year.

He will be sentenced on Feb. 13.

Eric Gutenberg, the attorney handling the case for the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office confirmed the plea deal.

"These charges give a certainty of conviction," he said. In addition, with these charges, the boy involved in the incident will not have to testify at the trial.

Reed was arrested on Sept. 27 when police found him with the boy at Montibeller Park. Neither was wearing clothing. Earlier in the evening Reed had approached the boy in the video rental section at the Meijer store on Carpenter Road.

The boy accepted a ride after Reed allegedly drove by three times in his pick-up truck.

Reed, who was employed at the University for two years, was dismissed Oct. 4.