The 12-year-old’s parents reported the alleged assault before she died by suicide weeks later.
PORTLAND TOWNSHIP, MI — An 18-year-old Michigan man has been charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct after authorities said a 12-year-old girl was sexually assaulted at a party in Ionia County weeks before her death.
Blake Kozan, of St. Johns, was arrested May 15 and arraigned May 18, according to local court and sheriff’s office accounts. The case has drawn wider attention because the girl, identified by her family as Mylah Thelen, later died by suicide at her family’s Portland home. Authorities have not said in court records that the criminal case includes a charge tied to her death.
The Ionia County Sheriff’s Office said the alleged assault happened Feb. 27 at a party on East Grand River Avenue, about a mile east of I-96 in Portland Township. Deputies said the girl’s parents filed a report on her behalf, and prosecutors later authorized a charge against Kozan. Family accounts given to local reporters placed the alleged assault in late February and described a gathering that began as a sleepover before moving to another home. Robert Thelen, the girl’s father, said his daughter told her parents she did not want the sexual contact to happen but did not know how to stop it.
After learning what their daughter had reported, Amy and Robert Thelen took her to a hospital and then to a child advocacy center in Ionia County, according to their public accounts. Such centers are used to interview children in abuse investigations in a setting meant to limit repeated questioning. The family said Mylah was 12 at the time of the alleged assault and turned 13 before her death. Her father found her dead in her bedroom on March 29, the family said. The parents have said she left a note, but they have not released its contents.
Kozan is charged with one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. Under Michigan law, the charge can carry a sentence of 25 years to life in prison in certain child victim cases. The charge is an accusation, and Kozan is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Local reports said Kozan had a public defender, Walter Downes, who said he and his client would not comment publicly on the case. Court records listed a probable cause conference for June 8. Another court date was reported for June 15.
The case has left the family and the Portland-area community focused on the weeks between the report and Mylah’s death. Robert Thelen told reporters the family tried to reassure her that the alleged assault was not her fault. He also said she told her parents that other students knew about the incident and were bullying her, though he said the family still did not know what triggered her final decision. “We don’t know what triggered that moment for her,” he said, describing the night before her death as one in which the family had been laughing and talking about the future.
Family members described Mylah as energetic, creative and fearless. She began Brazilian jiu-jitsu at age nine after earlier bullying, her parents said, and later became involved in wrestling. Away from sports, she liked painting, sewing and knitting. Her mother described her as bright and full of energy. Those details have become part of the family’s public effort to keep attention on who Mylah was, not only on the criminal case that followed her report.
Investigators have not publicly released a full police report, witness list or timeline of everyone who attended the party. The sheriff’s office account said the alleged assault occurred on East Grand River Avenue in Portland Township, while the family’s public statements described a party game and an older male. Authorities have not announced any additional charges against other people connected to the gathering. The case remains in an early court stage, with the next steps expected to focus on probable cause and whether the charge will move forward.
The Ionia County Prosecutor’s Office authorized the charge after the sheriff’s office investigation, according to deputies. The court process will determine whether prosecutors can show enough evidence for the case to proceed. For now, Kozan faces a felony charge tied to the alleged assault, while the Thelen family continues to speak publicly about Mylah’s death and the pain they say followed her report.
Author note: Last updated May 25, 2026.