Cass County man charged with coaxing girlfriend’s daughter into sex

CASS COUNTY, Mich. -- The man who was at the center of a SWAT situation in South Bend last month was back in Cass County court on Wednesday to hear testimony from the 15-year-old girl accusing him of criminal sexual conduct.

It was March 26, 2018 when Cass County Sheriff’s deputies crossed the state line to serve a warrant for Corey Roddy on Chestnut Street in South Bend.

The SWAT team was called in as Roddy initially refused to come out. An hours-long standoff then took place before ending peacefully.

On Wednesday, Roddy sat handcuffed in court listening to testimony from the teenage girl who is accusing him of coaxing her into sex.

“He knew that I had smoked weed. And he would offer me money, weed, a lot, to do stuff with him for, he would say, one minute or two minutes,” the girl said, “have sex with him.”

The girl said throughout the summer of 2017, when she was 14, Roddy coaxed her into having sex with him at least three times while her mom was not home.

Roddy denies the charges. His attorney questioned the girl on Wednesday about some previous instances where she said she lied, but the girl maintained in her testimony that what she said happened last summer is true.

“He said, ‘Can we just do it just this one time? Just this last time? I promise this is the last time,’” the girl said. “And he was like, ‘Just for one minute or two. Just this last time. Just this last time. I promise on my kids.’”

The judge sided with the prosecution and said there’s enough evidence to send the case to circuit court for trial.

“We take all our cases seriously, but when a child is involved it’s even more intensive,” said Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz.

No dates have been set for Roddy’s next court appearance.

His family was in court on Wednesday and his sister told ABC57 off-camera that this is all a big misunderstanding.

We also learned the 13-year-old boy who was with Roddy during last month’s SWAT situation was his new girlfriend’s son.

She said on Wednesday that her son was never in danger and that Roddy just wanted to speak with his family before police took him away.