One time Coach Eby Center volunteer enters no contest plea to sexual assault charge

COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – A Coldwater man entered a no-contest plea to a charge of Fourth Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct Monday in Branch County Circuit Court in connection with an incident in September 2017.

In exchange for his plea, prosecutors will dismiss a second count of fourth degree criminal sexual conduct against 30-year-old Daniel McFeters.

Branch County Prosecutor Zach Stempien said the victim in the case indicated the defendant had sexual contact with her when she was between the ages of 13 and 16 while walking her home from an event at the Coach Eby Youth and Family Center. The McFeters was alleged to have been a volunteer at the Eby Center at the time.

Stempien said in a press release that, “This Office found that a plea to the most serious offense the Defendant was charged with, and could be charged with, to be appropriate based upon the Defendant’s history and the effects of his criminal behavior on the Victim. At this time, there is no specific sentence agreement as it relates to the amount of incarceration, allowing the Court to sentence the Defendant within its discretion. After consultation with the Victim and consideration of the potential sentencing outcomes in this case, this Office found a resolution by plea to the most serious crime to be appropriate.”

He added the dismissed count would not, and could not, run consecutive to the crime the Defendant pled to which means that the maximum period of incarceration for the Defendant is two years, regardless of how many counts of Criminal Sexual Conduct the Defendant was convicted of.

According to Stempien, in conjunction with Michigan law, the Court will still be required to consider the Michigan Sentencing Guidelines prior to announcing sentencing, which likely will be lower than the statutory maximum of two years.

McFeters was charged after a Coldwater Police Department investigation. His association with the Coach Eby Center led to an outcry on social media platforms almost a month after Branch Pride Executive Director Chris Boger blasted the Coach Eby Center for “their hateful and non-affirming treatment of the LGBTQ community.”