Michigan Democrat — arrested for allegedly sexting underage boy in sting operation — wins re-election in landslide
A Michigan Democrat won re-election in a landslide despite resigning from his office two months ago after he was arrested for allegedly sexting an underage boy.
Ken Fletcher had been the supervisor in Delta Township, which is about 10 minutes west of Lansing. Fletcher resigned Sept. 3 — a day before he faced child sex crime charges.
Law enforcement agents reportedly were ‘posing as a 15-year-old male on the mobile dating app Grindr from Aug. 13 to Aug. 14’ in order to talk to Fletcher.
Township Manager Brian Reed said Fletcher resigned “effective immediately” during the township board meeting, and the board accepted his resignation. Reed added that the “township has also been made aware of an open criminal investigation unrelated to his duties as supervisor.”
In the recent election, Fletcher received nearly 89% of the vote. He was opposed by two write-in candidates — Saturn Wells, who received just over 11% of the vote, and Richard Ott who did not receive any votes.
Fletcher was arrested Sept. 4 and charged with accosting a child for immoral purposes and using a computer to commit a crime; he pleaded not guilty to the two felonies and was released on bond.
Fletcher, 58, was caught in a sting operation, according to police. He allegedly thought he was talking to a 15-year-old boy on Grindr — the self-proclaimed “world’s largest social networking app for gay, bi, trans, and queer people” — when cops reportedly were posing a teen boy.
WILX-TV obtained documents claiming Fletcher “engaged in an undercover chat with Detective Scheib with the Eaton County Sheriff’s Office.” Law enforcement agents reportedly were “posing as a 15-year-old male on the mobile dating app Grindr from Aug. 13 to Aug. 14” in order to talk to Fletcher.
The outlet noted that Fletcher “continued to send enticing messages and expressed that he was willing to meet the 15-year-old boy at the Lansing Mall for the purpose of ‘just talking.'”
Fletcher was kept on the ballot due to state election law.
Fletcher can accept or decline the office until Jan. 1, 2025.
The New York Post reported that Fletcher’s lawyer, Michael Nichols, said his client was “pleasantly surprised” by the election results.
Nichols wondered to WILX, “The biggest question I think for Ken Fletcher is — is this the right thing for not just me but for the community? Am I still the best person for the job?”
Delta Township Clerk Mary Clark — who has been serving as interim supervisor since Fletcher resigned — said, “There are three choices on his part, and so it’s really kind of presumptive of us to act or decide to act in a certain way before we know what is happening with that position.”
Clark added, “He can vacate the office if he does not get sworn in by then; he could get sworn in and resign, or obviously he could get sworn in and stay.”
Fletcher is scheduled to return to court Nov. 12.
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