A man from Bloomington, Illinois has been indicted on five counts of predatory criminal sexual assault involving a victim under the age of 13. Despite being male, local media reported that a “woman” had been the subject of a lengthy investigation.
Michelle Blessent, born James, is currently being held on a $1 million bond warrant. Blessent, 33, was arrested today without incident and police issued a public notice appealing for additional information on the predator from the public. Bloomington Police have stated that investigations into the circumstances surrounding the crime are still ongoing.
Bloomington Police identified Blessent using his “female” name in a press release following his indictment and most major media reported him as being a “woman,” leading to ample confusion amongst Bloomington residents who saw the police department’s public notice posted to Facebook.
Among the replies to the Facebook notice are some users chastising others for “transphobic comments,” and condemning the Bloomington Police Department for not having locked the comment section in order to prevent such remarks from being made.
Brandt Parsley, a public information officer at the Bloomington Police Department, did provide a further statement to local radio station Cities 92.9, noting that Blessent’s arrest marked “uncharted territory for the police department.” Parsley did confirm that Blessent had legally changed his name to Michelle.
According to the McLean County Circuit Clerk, Blessent applied to change his name in July of 2022, and successfully completed the process in December. Previous court records also indicate Blessent was pursued by child support enforcement in 2014 and ordered to provide assistance by a court after paternity was established. He has other miscellaneous run-ins with the justice system over the years, including city ordinance and driving violations as well as a domestic battery case which was dropped after the victim declined prosecution.
Blessent does have a Facebook profile under his legal name, with the most recent posts being from 2017. It appears Blessent did not identify as transgender at the time his Facebook account was active.
Disturbingly, it appears Blessent had access very young children at that time, though it is unconfirmed if the children in the photos are his own.
Blessent was indicted after multiple reports were made about the alleged abuse and an extensive investigation was carried out by Bloomington Police Department. Blessent has been charged with five counts of sexual assault, which is defined in the state of Illinois as involving penetration by force or in a situation where a victim cannot give consent.
The Bloomington Police Department have confirmed that the alleged victim is under the age of 13.
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