A 28-year-old man was arraigned Thursday, charged with rapes that happened in 2007 when he was 15.

Calhoun County Prosecutor David Gilbert said Brad Allen Risner could be linked to 14 sexual assaults.

The case against Risner was brought by Special Assistant Attorney General Michelle Richardson and the Calhoun County Sexual Assault Rape Kit investigations and is part of ongoing investigations begun statewide by the Michigan Attorney General's office after officials found untested rape kits in counties throughout the state.

Richardson is working with the Kalamazoo County Sexual Assault Rape team on the Risner case.

Gilbert said the case against Risner began with results from an untested rape kit which led prosecutors in Kalamazoo County to bring three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct against Risner. He is awaiting trial this year in Kalamazoo County Circuit Court.

"It started with an untested kit," Gilbert said. "The detective that was working for them, the more people they spoke to, the more alleged victims there were."

That investigation led detectives to Calhoun County where Risner was charged Thursday with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct between Aug. 12, 2007 and Sept. 30, 2007 in Homer.

"This is a violent felony and sexual assault," Richardson told Magistrate Joe Brutsche Thursday as she argued for a high bond. "I am concerned about the violence involved in this offense because it involved unlawful restraint on two separate occasions to (sexually) penetrate the victim."

Risner was shown on a video screen from the jail crying throughout the 15-minute court arraignment.

Richardson said Risner was 15 at the time of the alleged rape and his victim was a juvenile. She did not report the rape to police at the time of the incident.

"And there are 14 women that we are aware of who have alleged some sort of violence inflicted upon them by the defendant in those cases," Richardson said.

Gilbert said the cases are in Kalamazoo, Calhoun and Branch counties. Risner has lived in Coldwater two years and has family ties in the Homer area.

"He is a clear danger to the public," Richardson told the magistrate.

Risner had been free after posting a $200,000 bond in Kalamazoo until the new charges were brought and he was arrested Wednesday by the Michigan State Police.

Brutsche set the bond on his Calhoun County case at $200,000 cash. Risner is scheduled to appear before District Judge Paul Beardslee for a preliminary examination on April 2.

His public defender, attorney Scott Coleman, said Risner is entering a not guilty plea and is asking for a jury trial.

Richardson said Risner's criminal history began when he was a juvenile with two separate cases of sexual assault and he and he is currently on the Michigan Sex Offender Registry. He faced a charge of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder after breaking a woman's arm, Richardson told the court.

Contact Trace Christenson at 269-966-0685 or tchrist@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter: @TSChristenson