Ex-deputy’s case moves to circuit court
34-year-old accused of trying to meet girl he thought was 15 for sex
The case against a former Oakland County Sheriff’s deputy accused of trying to arrange a meet-up for sex with someone he thought was a 15-year-old girl — but wasn’t — has advanced to Oakland County Circuit Court for possible trial.
Jared Salisbury, 34, is charged with accosting a child for immoral purposes and faces up to four years in prison if convicted. On May 24, 50th District Judge Ronda Gross bound the case over after Salisbury waived his right to a preliminary exam, scheduled for that day.
The case against Salisbury unfolded last year when Oakland County Sheriff’s officials were alerted to his alleged criminal activity by a resident who reported seeing a social media post in which a man — later identified as Salisbury — attempted to arrange a meeting with someone he believed was a 15-yearold girl.
Detectives linked the social media chat to Salisbury, an Oakland County Jail probationary employee. Salisbury was fired on Sept. 6, 2022.
The message exchanges were reportedly with a Pontiac man who uses a messaging app in his attempt to catch child predators.
At a court hearing last October, Salisbury’s attorney John Freeman noted that Salisbury wasn’t caught communicating with a child but rather a “full grown man who’s a self-proclaimed vigilante who is using this and other instances as a mechanism to make money.”
Freeman also said there will be “a factual case in terms of who initiated the communication, particularly the inappropriate communication.”
Salisbury is out of jail on personal bond. He’s scheduled for arraignment June 1 before Oakland County Circuit Judge Yasmine Poles.