79-year-old man admits to sexually abusing children for years, police say

CALHOUN COUNTY, MI – A 79-year-old Marshall man faces 18 felony charges after admitting to sexually abusing children, sheriff’s detectives said.

On Friday, June 15, at his arraignment in Calhoun County District Court, William Haroff was ordered held without bail on 12 counts of first-degree sexual assault (a felony with a potential life sentence) and six counts of second-degree sexual assault.

Court documents state that the date of the crime for all charges was January 1, 2017.

An out-of-state agency reported the allegations to Calhoun County Sheriff’s detectives, police said. In an interview on Wednesday, June 12, Haroff cooperated with investigators and confessed to multiple sexual assaults on underage victims, police said.

The police have contacted the alleged victims.

The defendant sexually abused two children, ages five to 12, at a home in Fredonia Township, Calhoun County, according to court documents obtained by FOX 17.

One of the children said she was sexually abused in Tennessee by Haroff in Michigan for several years, FOX 17 reported.

Police ask anyone with further information to contact Sheriff’s Detective Jon Pignataro at 269-781-0880, Calhoun County Consolidated Dispatch at 269-781-0911 or the Silent Observer at 269-964-3888.