A 23-year-old man has been denied bond after Detroit police say he broke into a home on the city's west side, forced a woman in her 60s into a downstairs bathroom, and sexually assaulted and beat her before fleeing through a window when a witness returned unexpectedly. Roderick Larkins now faces three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct during a felony in connection with last Monday's attack on Lansing Street.
According to police, as reported by ClickOnDetroit, the victim was in an upstairs bedroom when Larkins entered the home. Officials say he grabbed her, physically assaulted her, and attempted to sexually assault her before forcing her into a bathroom on the first floor, where police say he sexually assaulted and beat her. Officials say the victim fought back against Larkins throughout the encounter.
The attack was reportedly interrupted when a witness, described as the victim's roommate, returned home during the incident. That witness told police Larkins had sexually assaulted his roommate and later reported seeing him flee the residence through a window. Larkins was arrested following the home invasion, and police say there is no known connection between him and the victim.
Charges Carry Life-Sentence Exposure
Larkins faces three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct during a felony, a charge that applies under Michigan law when sexual penetration occurs during the commission of another felony, such as a home invasion. Under Michigan Penal Code MCL 750.520b, the charge is a Class A felony punishable by up to life imprisonment or any term of years, making it the state's most severe sexual assault classification.
Home invasion itself carries steep penalties. Under Michigan statute MCL 750.110a, first-degree home invasion is a Class B felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $5,000 fine when someone enters an occupied home without authorization intending to commit a felony or assault. The statute also gives trial judges discretion to order a home invasion sentence to run consecutively, rather than concurrently, with any sentence for another felony from the same incident, per Shawn Haff Law — a provision that could dramatically extend total prison time if Larkins is convicted.
If convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, Larkins would also face Michigan's Truth in Sentencing requirements. Under the Truth in Sentencing Act, individuals convicted of that charge must serve 100 percent of their court-ordered minimum sentence before becoming eligible for parole, according to Maze Legal.
Court Ordered No Contact With Victim
A court has ordered Larkins to have no contact with the victim, and he was denied bond following his arrest. He is due back in court on Friday. Felony cases originating in Detroit typically begin at the 36th District Court, located at 421 Madison Street, where district judges handle arraignments and preliminary examinations before cases are bound over to Wayne County's 3rd Circuit Court for trial.
Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney Kym Worthy's office handles felony prosecutions originating in Detroit and has embedded eight county prosecutors across seven Detroit Police Department precincts to streamline warrant reviews, according to the City of Detroit. Worthy's office previously led the Detroit Rape Kit Project after discovering 11,341 untested sexual assault kits in a Detroit Police Department property facility in 2009, a discovery that spurred nationwide DNA testing reforms and hundreds of backlog convictions.
A Rare Case Amid Falling Crime Numbers
The alleged attack comes even as Detroit has reported historic declines in violent crime. City officials and Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison announced in January that sexual assault reports dropped between 14 and 20 percent in 2025 compared to the prior year, part of an overall 10 percent reduction in citywide violent crime. Detroit also recorded 165 criminal homicides in 2025, its lowest single-year total since 1965, alongside double-digit declines in nonfatal shootings and carjackings, according to data reported by the Associated Press.
This is not the first Detroit home invasion Hoodline has covered this year. Earlier this month, Hoodline reported on a mom's axe standoff with an intruder after a masked man climbed through a window on the city's west side while her children watched. Michigan's Stand Your Ground law allows someone lawfully present in a home to use force, including deadly force, without a duty to retreat if they reasonably believe it necessary to prevent an imminent sexual assault or severe bodily injury.
Key questions remain unanswered in the Larkins case, including exactly how he gained entry into the Lansing Street home and what forensic or physical evidence investigators may have recovered at the scene. Those details, along with the outcome of the probable cause determination, are expected to come into focus on Friday's hearing.
