BEULAH — A Benzie County corrections officer remains suspended without pay while authorities determine if he'll face criminal charges.
Michigan State Police completed an investigation into a male officer who worked at the Benzie County Jail since 2005, Benzie County Sheriff Rory Heckman said. The officer, whom Heckman wouldn't identify, was placed on leave in April after a fellow employee reported the officer had sexual contact with a former inmate.
Heckman wouldn't provide details of the allegations, but previously said they involved "off-duty, as well as on-duty conduct." The more serious allegations involve off-duty conduct, he said.
The Michigan Attorney General's office assigned Grand Traverse Prosecutor Alan Schneider to the case after Benzie County Prosecutor J.B. Daugherty declared a conflict of interest. Schneider said the sexual activity was consensual, but he's considering a second-degree criminal sexual conduct charge because state law makes it a crime for a corrections officer to have sexual contact with a probationer.
Schneider expects to know soon whether charges are warranted.
"I asked (state police) to conduct some additional interviews," he said. "There were some specific questions I wanted answered."
The incident isn't the first time a Benzie sheriff's employee came under scrutiny for sexual misconduct. Former Sheriff Bob Blank fired Douglas Randolph in 2006 for fraternizing with a female inmate. Randolph later pleaded guilty to interfering with a police investigation after he lied to officials who looked into the misconduct.
In 2008, Blank fired corrections officer Craig Baker after he was accused of sexually assaulting a teen girl. A charge of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct later was dismissed by a judge, but an arbitrator upheld the firing.
Heckman in June 2010 fired Rick Zych, a former Benzie court bailiff, for having "non-consensual contact" with a woman he knew. Zych later pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated assault in connection with the incident.
In the late 1990s two Benzie corrections officers were accused of groping female inmates during searches, and in 2003 the county settled a lawsuit from a woman who claimed an officer sexually assaulted her in the jail in 2000.
Region
Officer faces contact claims
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