KENTWOOD, Mich. -- A judge has ordered to trial a 42-year-old former school maintenance worker accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl who was later found dead.
Kentwood District Court Judge William Kelly listened to several witnesses and police recordings before deciding to send Quinn James to trial on four counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.
The victim in the case, 16-year-old Mujey Dumbuya, was found dead Jan. 28 in a wooded area in Kalamazoo. The East Kentwood High School student had been reported missing four days earlier.
In court Wednesday, a video of James' November interview with police was shown.
In it, he admitted to having what he claimed was consensual sex with Mujey and said he thought she was 17 years old, not 15. He says he met her through his girlfriend's nephew, who was dating Mujey at the time.
That teen also testified Wednesday, with a different story than James. He says James, who worked for Kentwood Public Schools at the time, promised to change Mujey's grades if she had sex with him. He said he held his girlfriend's hand as she cried during the assault. He also testified that James knew Mujey was 15 years old during their first sexual encounter.
After Wednesday's hearing, James was bound over to circuit court and is awaiting trial.
James is considered a person of interest in Dumbuya's death, but no charges have been issued in that case. He was arrested shortly after her death for a separate rape case from 2014.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
