Sex crime-related charges added to teen connected to fatal hit-run
The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office has added 10 felony charges related to child pornography against a 19-year-old Commerce Township man connected to the March 22 fatal hit-and-run crash in Walled Lake.
In addition to the multiple felonies Gavin Kassab faces for the crash that killed Piper Carrothers, 13, of Commerce Township and injured several others, he’s accused of sending harassing messages and links to explicit videos of a 16-yearold to her and her parents last fall. He’s also accused of livestreaming explicit videos of the victim to his Instagram account.
Kassab was arraigned Friday morning in 52-1 District Court on two counts of aggravated child sexually abusive activity, three counts of aggravated sexually abusive activity — distributing or promoting, and five counts of using computers to commit a crime. Bond was set at $750,000 for the new charges, bringing his assigned bond total to $1.5 million.
“Taking and distributing photos or videos of underage girls and kids is exploitation, and my office will vigorously prosecute those responsible,” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald stated in a news release. “My office takes these charges extremely seriously and will fight for justice for the victim and her family.”
This is the third round of charges filed against Kassab this month. On May 11, he was charged with firstdegree fleeing and eluding causing death and two counts of second-degree fleeing and eluding for the fatal hit-and-run at Maple and Decker roads, and on May 24 the prosecutor added charges of manslaughter and reckless driving causing death for the same incident. Kassab was reportedly a passenger in a 2023 Jeep Gladiator with an unlicensed, then-15-yearold behind the wheel who he allegedly encouraged to flee from police in pursuit for a traffic violation moments before the crash.
The driver, now 16 years old, faces the same felony charges as Kassab does for the crash, as well as leaving the scene of an accident, a misdemeanor. He’s held in
Children’s Village in Oakland County, and the prosecutor’s office said it hasn’t released his name because of his age. However, McDonald is seeking to have him tried as an adult in juvenile court.
Regarding Kassab’s sexual abuse-related charges, he faces up to 25 years in prison and/or a fine up to $75,000 if convicted of the most serious offense, aggravated child sexually abusive activity. His next court appearance on those charges is set for June 5 for a probable cause conference, followed by a preliminary exam scheduled for June 12 should he choose to have one.