JACKSON, MI (WTVB) – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced on Tuesday that a former Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Deputy has entered a guilty plea to a charge of misconduct in office.
46-year-old Todd Barkley of Brownstown Township is scheduled to be sentenced on December 14 to three years’ probation.
He will also never be able to serve as a law enforcement officer again.
Authorities say Barkley arrested a woman on multiple occasions and then exploited his position with the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Office to coerce her into a sexual relationship.
While off duty, Barkley drove to Fulton, Kentucky where the woman was being treated for substance abuse and used his badge to take the woman out of the facility for the day for the purposes of engaging in sex.
Barkley also engaged in sex with the woman in Michigan. He has since been fired from the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Office.
Nessel said, “We hold our law enforcement officers to the highest level of honesty and integrity and it’s unfortunate when the public’s trust is violated. The Department of Attorney General holds accountable anyone who breaks the law and is a haven for those who have been victimized and exploited.”
The sentencing hearing will be held before Jackson County Circuit Judge Susan Beebe Jordan.
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