Jovon Bethly pleads not guilty to kidnapping, sexual assault charges

MILWAUKEE -- A Milwaukee man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting two women pleaded not guilty to five charges against him on Monday, Sept. 24. The accused is Jovon Bethly. He faces the following charges:


    According to the criminal complaint, on Saturday, Sept. 1 around 7:45 a.m., officers were dispatched to the area of 28th Street and Richardson Place in Milwaukee for the report of an abduction.

    Jovon Bethly



    The victim told police she was walking home with her boyfriend when they were approached by a suspect in a van. The victim told officers the suspect, later identified as Jovon Bethly, pointed a gun at her boyfriend and asked him "where the money was at." The victim's boyfriend approached Bethly and showed him he did not have anything. That's when Bethly allegedly told the victim to "get in the car." The victim told police she complied, because she feared her boyfriend would be shot if she did not.

    Wisconsin Athletic Club



    The complaint indicates Bethly then drove from the area of 28th and Richardson to 28th and Kilbourn, where he pulled over and sexually assaulted the victim. Bethly then drove the victim to the area of 27th and Kilbourn and let her go.

    A week later, on Sunday, Sept. 9, Wauwatosa officers were dispatched to the Wisconsin Athletic Club on Watertown Plank Road around 10:15 a.m. for a possible kidnapping, sexual assault and aggravated battery report.



    According to the criminal complaint, the victim told police she was running with her dog northbound on N. 87th Street, just east of the Wisconsin Athletic Club, when a man exited a gray minivan and displayed a handgun. He allegedly told the victim to leave the dog and get in the vehicle. The complaint indicates Bethly drove to an undeveloped area of the Milwaukee County Grounds just north of 87th and Watertown Plank Road and parked. Once parked, he sexually assaulted the victim.

    Jovon Bethly



    After the assault,  Bethly told the victim he would kill her and her family if she told anyone. He then dropped her off in the same spot he kidnapped her from.

    Bethly is due back in court on Oct. 1. If convicted on all charges, Bethly faces up to 244 years in prison. He has prior convictions for burglary and robbery.