LOWELL, Mich. — Heather Wallace, who is accused of sexually assaulting a 3-year-old family member, was in court Wednesday where she waived her right to a key hearing.
She's now headed to trial.
Wallace, 43, was charged after contacting police about a man she had met on a dating app who asked her to take inappropriate photos of her granddaughter and sexually assault her.
Wallace told police she did not comply but police say she did the opposite.
She faces a minimum of 20 years in prison if convicted.
The month-long investigation by Lowell Police began with a tip from the Hillsdale Police Department.
Wallace originally contacted Hillsdale Police about a man from Coldwater she met on a dating app. She said the man, 52-year-old Daniel Remsing, asked her to take pictures of her granddaughter and sexually assault her, but she told officers she did not comply with the request.
"I was looking into her first only as a witness for information stemming from their case," said Detective Aubrey Culver with the Lowell Police Department, "and it sort of took a left turn from there."
According to court documents, Wallace said that she had accidentally deleted Facebook communication with Remsing. A search warrant was then approved and submitted to META for Wallace's social media information.
The documents go on to say that while detectives waited for the information from META, a detective with the Hillsdale Police Department told Detective Culver that they had reviewed information from Remsing's phone dump, and that they had located two videos, and one photo, of a child with a sexually abusive nature.
Detectives were able to confirm the identity of the child in the video/photo as that of Wallace's granddaughter. Court documents say when questioned about the evidence, Wallace then admitted to making the videos /photo, and sending them to Remsing during video chats with the man in her Hunt Street home.
Lowell Police say it happened while Wallace was watching her granddaughter in November 2022.
"She did not have custody of her," said Det. Culver, "she was more of the babysitter for when the mother was working."
The child has been removed from Wallace's care, and returned to her mother.
Daniel Remsing, was also arrested and charged in Hillsdale County for first-degree criminal sexual assault involving his own granddaughters. He was arrested back in January and remains in jail.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the Lowell Police Department at 616.897.7123 or submit a tip anonymously to Silent Observer at 616.774.2345 or silentobserver.org.
Anyone who is experiencing or aware of sexual assault is encouraged to contact local police or the YWCA of West Central Michigan at 616.454.9922 or visit ywcawcmi.org/our-services/sexual-assault.
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