A 56-year-old former Brandon Township resident will serve at least 18 years in prison for sexually assaulting a child repeatedly in the township over the course of five years.
John Edward Woolley pleaded guilty to three counts of criminal sexual conduct, first degree, on Feb. 15 in front of Sixth Circuit Court Judge James Alexander.
Under the plea agreement, Woolley will serve no less than 18 years in prison. In exchange for his guilty plea, federal investigators will not pursue charges against him for the manufacture of child pornography.
According to Oakland County Sheriff’s Office police reports, deputies responded Aug. 18 to a home in the 2200 block of Ironwood in the Sashabaw Meadows Mobile Home Park. Deputies made contact there with a mother who said her daughter had been sexually abused by Woolley, her boyfriend of the past nine years. The woman said the abuse began five years ago, when her daughter was 9-years-old and has been occurring in the home where Woolley had been living with her and her daughter until these allegations were made. The abuse included sexual intercourse.
Further investigation revealed that Woolley had been taking intimate pictures of the victim with a digital camera and the victim discovered a file on Woolley’s laptop computer with these pictures. She identified the camera he used and the victim’s mother turned over a desktop computer to detectives. The laptop computer and camera were not immediately located.
Child Protective Services was notified and the victim was interviewed by a representative from Care House.
A search warrant was obtained for Woolley’s pick-up truck and an Independence Township residence in the 9700 block of Ortonville Road where he had been staying with his mother since he was confronted by the victim’s mother. Following the execution of the search warrants and an interview of Woolley, the investigation substantiated the allegations made by the victim and her mother.
The Care House interview further substantiated the allegations on Aug. 22. On that same day, information was received that Woolley had cleaned out his bank account and left suicide notes with two biological daughters before fleeing the area in a rental car.
On Aug. 23, following a review of the case by the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, a 3-count warrant was issued for CSC, first degree and he was arrested without incident on Aug. 26 by detectives from Brandon Township and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Team.
Upon Woolley’s arrest, he was taken to Doctor’s Hospital in Pontiac for self-inflicted wounds to both wrists. He was released from the hospital Aug. 29 and was taken to the Oakland County Jail, where he remains on a $3 million bond.
Sentencing is set for 1 p.m., March 7 in front of Alexander.