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Deputy Richard Zych charged charged with two counts of sexual assault [Dec. 17, 2009]
Former Benzie Deputy Sentenced
Date: December 14, 2010
By Eric VanDussen
http://ipr.interlochen.org/ipr-news-features/episode/11358
A former Benzie County court officer has been sentenced to a year in jail.
Richard Zych pleaded guilty last month to one count of aggravated assault, under a plea deal. He was originally charged with three counts of fourth degree criminal sexual conduct.
District Judge John Foresman admonished Zych and handed down the maximum one-year sentence allowed under the plea agreement.
"You used your position as deputy sheriff to put her in a position which made her vulnerable. And that kind of conduct cannot be tolerated," Foresman told Zych in court Monday.
The prosecutor alleged that Zych used force and coercion while sexually assaulting a female victim on at least three occasions in 2009, manipulating his position over her.
Zych had worked in the Benzie County Sheriff's Department since 1997. The department terminated earlier this year.
Former deputy pleads guilty to aggravated assault
Posted: 11.29.2010 at 3:27 PM
Up North Live
http://www.upnorthlive.com/news/story.aspx?id=547396
A former Benzie County Corrections Deputy, accused of sexually assaulting a woman, pleaded guilty to Aggravated Assault Monday.
BEULAH -- A former Benzie County Corrections Deputy, accused of sexually assaulting a woman, pleaded guilty to Aggravated Assault Monday.
Rick Zych was accused of groping a woman three times after he pulled her over in a Sheriff's vehicle earlier this year.
As a part of the plea bargain Zych had to admit to at least one count of Criminal Sexual Conduct fourth degree.
Zych faces up to one year in jail when he is sentenced on December 20.
