Woman charged after accusing deputy of rape stalked, threatened him, police said

Kara Berg , Rachel Greco | Lansing State Journal

CHARLOTTE — A Charlotte woman who is accused of falsely reporting that an Eaton County Sheriff's Deputy raped her also stalked the deputy and sent a nude photo of him to his current girlfriend, according to court records.

Kellie Bartlett, 35, was charged in Eaton County Friday with 10 felonies and four misdemeanors in connection to the false report.

Bartlett filed a complaint with Michigan State Police in January, reporting that the deputy had sexually assaulted her in March 2017. The investigation, however, determined Bartlett was a "willing and consenting partner in this act," Michigan State Police Detective Sgt. Erik Darling testified in a hearing that led to criminal charges.

Bartlett worked with the deputy at the sheriff's office and they began a relationship in late 2015, according to a news release from the Barry County Prosecutor's Office. Their relationship ended in spring 2017. Barry County Prosecutor Julie Nakfoor Pratt is prosecuting the case because Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd recused his office.

After that, Bartlett began stalking the deputy, Darling said. She allegedly created a fake email account and Facebook profile for the deputy, and accessed his gmail account without his consent or knowledge, Darling said.

Messages were left seeking comment with Bartlett and her attorney Kelly Fletcher Tuesday morning.

In an interview in January, Bartlett told the State Journal the deputy never addressed the alleged assault directly, but said the day after the incident he told her: "If it comes down to your word or mine it’s going to be me they’re going to believe.”

Bartlett worked at the sheriff's office from 2008 through December 2017, when she was fired.

After she and the deputy broke up, Bartlett sent a nude photo of the deputy to his current girlfriend, Darling testified. She repeatedly tried to contact the woman, Darling said, even though the woman had blocked Bartlett on Facebook.

She used resources at the sheriff's department to download police reports and to look up personal information on the deputy, Darling said.

"This is a continuation of Bartlett stalking (the victim) and was done outside of any job related responsibilities or access that Bartlett had," he testified. The State Journal is not naming the deputy because he has not been charged with a crime.

Throughout the summer of 2017, Bartlett sent "numerous harassing and threatening text messages to him," despite repeated requests to stop, Darling testified. She also used work computers to find and inspect internal investigations that she was the primary subject of, Darling said.

In January Bartlett told the State Journal she continued to contact the deputy, in part, because she had loaned him money and wanted him to repay it.

"I didn’t know how to handle it, and I didn’t want to upset the apple cart at work because I knew if I went up against him…he said it to me, and I’ve always known it anyways, that if it came down to me or him at the department it was going to be him," Bartlett said in January.

Although the deputy was under investigation for sexual assault, he was never taken off patrol or put on administrative leave, Barry County Prosecutor Julie Nakfoor Pratt said. Eaton County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Jerri Nesbitt and Sheriff Tom Reich declined to comment on the deputy's status.

Reich's office declined to release the department's policy on when officers must be placed on administrative leave. The State Journal is seeking that policy through a public records request.

Bartlett told the State Journal in January that she didn't initially report the alleged sex assault because she thought she'd be accused of lying.

"I felt like I kept getting the treatment that I’m just a scorned woman, that I’m just crazy and I think if I had come out with it at that time it would have looked even worse," Bartlett said. "I think it would have just been chalked up to that.”

She said she decided decided to report the incident after the sheriff's office fired her because she no longer feared losing her job.

But when she spoke to the state police, they cautioned her about the harm a complaint could do to the deputy's reputation, Bartlett told the State Journal in January.

“The first thing he said to me was he hopes I’m not just a woman scorned because I’ll be charged with filing a false police report if that’s the case,” Bartlett said.

A message was left with Michigan State Police Detective 1st Lt. Tom DeClercq Tuesday.

Bartlett was arraigned Friday after the nine-month long investigation. Nakfoor Pratt said the material in the case was "voluminous and multifaceted," which is why it took months to review.

Bartlett is charged with:

Two counts of using a computer to commit a crime

Two counts of identity theft

Three counts of unauthorized access to a computer

One count felony conspiracy

One count false report of a felony

Two counts misdemeanor stalking

One count of intentional dissemination of sexually explicit visual material

Two misdemeanor counts of using a computer to commit a crime

Her bail was set at $50,000 cash or surety. She posted bond and was not in custody at the Eaton County Jail as of Wednesday.

Contact Kara Berg at 517-377-1113 or kberg@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @karaberg95.

