Michigan Woman Pleads Guilty to Lying About Being Raped by Deputy

Victor Westerkamp
By Victor Westerkamp
December 13, 2019US News
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Michigan Woman Pleads Guilty to Lying About Being Raped by Deputy
The Barry County Prosecutor's Office in Hastings, Michigan. (Screenshot/Google Maps)

A Michigan woman who falsely accused a sheriff’s deputy of rape has pleaded guilty to lying to police about the incident.

Kellie Bartlett of Charlotte also plead guilty to false report of a felony, unauthorized access to a computer, identity theft, and stalking, reported the Lansing State Journal. In exchange for the guilty pleas, 16 other charges related to her job were dropped.

Bartlett, who worked as a clerk at the Eaton County Sheriff’s Office, began an affair with the deputy in late 2015 that lasted until spring 2017, when he broke up with her.

After the breakup, Bartlett began stalking the deputy, who was not named in reports because he has not been charged with a crime, and his then-girlfriend who is now his wife. When Bartlett continued to contact and stalk the deputy despite numerous requests that she stop, he told his superiors at the sheriff’s office, who began an investigation into the stalking, reported WILX.

In January 2018, Bartlett told Michigan State Police that the deputy raped her in March 2017. But an investigation revealed that the March encounter was consensual and that evidence showed she made up the rape in retaliation for the breakup, reported Fox 17.

Bartlett is the wife of then-Potterville Police Chief Shane Bartlett and worked at the sheriff’s office for nearly 10 years before being fired in 2017.

“My review of the evidence in both investigations raised suspicion that the allegation against the deputy could be false. Considering that the rate of false reports of sexual assault is extremely low, 2 percent to 8 percent, a thorough investigation was necessary to ensure a fair and just outcome,” said Barry County Prosecutor Julie Pratt in a statement, WILX reported.

Bartlett’s court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 30, 2020.

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