Milwaukee man accused of kidnapping and sex assault, pleads guilty to 2 of 5 charges

MILWAUKEE -- A plea deal has been reached in the case against Jovon Bethly, a Milwaukee man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting two women. The attacks happened in Milwaukee and Wauwatosa in September 2018.

Bethly originally faced the following charges:


    Jovon Bethly



    But on Friday, March 15, Bethly and his attorney agreed to plead guilty to the sexual assault charges -- in exchange for the three other charges being dismissed and read into the court record for sentencing purposes.

    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.

    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.

    Jovon Bethly



    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.

    Bethly will be sentenced on June 14.