Pierce County man pleads not guilty to kidnapping of Michigan girl

TACOMA, Washington. – A Pierce County man has pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping a child from his Michigan home.

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

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

“Mr. Wier has no criminal history,” argued the defense lawyer.

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

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

“In the days leading up to this incident, there were numerous communications between ‘EM’ and the defendant, Mr. Wier, that she wanted Mr. Wier to pick her up and be taken to Washington with him,” the statement said. said the defense lawyer.

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

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

In court documents, the girl told deputies that Wier gained her trust over a four-month period on Snapchat where she confided in him that she didn’t get along with his family. Investigators said Wier eventually turned their discussions to sex and sent her nude photos.

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

“There is no danger that he will commit violent crimes. The alleged victim in this case is back out of state,” the defense attorney said in a request for Wier’s release under personal commitment.

The 13-year-old has since returned home to Michigan. The court is now trying to determine Wier’s next steps. His lawyer argued that the case should be dismissed. The defense said there was no evidence to prove he kidnapped her, but instead she made the decision to leave her home.

The court rejected their request for dismissal and debated at length with the defense on the terms of restraint and the child’s freedom.

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 approximately 34 hours to pick up his victim and bring her back to Washington state,” a prosecutor said. “There are strong concerns that he poses both a flight risk and a risk to the community, given the efforts he has made in this case.”

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

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

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