COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – A Coldwater man was sentenced to nine months in jail and was placed on probation for five years in Branch County Circuit Court on Monday after he entered a no-contest plea to a charge of Fourth Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct in connection with a September 2017 incident while he was a volunteer at the Coach Eby Youth and Family Center.
30-year-old Daniel McFeters was given credit for eight days already served in jail. He will have to pay over $500 in fines and costs.
Under terms of his five-year probation, McFeters can not possess alcohol, weapons or drugs. He also has to stay out of bars and submit to searches without a warrant.
In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dismissed a second count of fourth degree criminal sexual conduct against McFeters.
Branch County Prosecutor Zach Stempien said in December when the plea agreement was filed that the victim in the case indicated the defendant had sexual contact with her when she was between the ages of 13 and 16 and that it happened while he was walking her home from an event at the Coach Eby Youth and Family Center. According to authorities, the sexual contact took place at the defendant’s apartment.
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 was 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 was still required to consider the Michigan Sentencing Guidelines prior to announcing sentencing.
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.”
The Eby Center needs to get all new people in charge! The cover up was in excusable!
Who are to say that.