One of the points made regularly by the #metoo movement is the fact that victims need to be believed. And we agree. When someone has been the victim of a crime, they deserve to be treated with dignity, and given the respect that comes with being believed. But not everyone who claims to have been a victim was actually victimized. As Americans, we certainly believe in the presumption of innocence until guilt has been proven.
Some people claim to be victims when in fact they were willing participants, or even when nothing happened at all. The reasons behind this are varied, like a desire to be interesting, the need for attention or pity, and shame about a decision they made. In this case though, we’re not sure what the motivator could possibly be. But truth be told, it doesn’t really matter why the accuser lied. It’s still a lie and innocent people are in prison today because of lies told by other people.
The case was an unfortunate example of one person’s vicious deception
Kellie Bartlett, wife of the former Police Chief of Potterville, Michigan (in Eaton County) worked in a clerical position at the Eaton County Sheriff’s Department. She was also in a relationship with a sheriff’s deputy who worked there for several years. However, one can only assume that the relationship didn’t work out, as Barlett accused the deputy of raping her back in 2017. But as her text history revealed, that wasn’t an accurate assessment of what really happened.
Based on text messages to her husband about the encounter, it was something she was a willing and consenting participant in. And instead of messages full of horror and incomprehension (which is what you’d expect from a rape victim) Barlett was disparaging of the deputy’s performance in bed. Which led the prosecutor to believe that she hadn’t really been assaulted. Go figure.
The number of felonies she faced initially was staggering!
Initially, Barlett was charged with no less than 16 felonies based on the initial false allegations of rape. Her husband, Shane Bartlett, who was the chief of police in Potterville, Michigan at the time, was charged with misconduct in office, Lying to a police officer and False report of a felony. (All of these crimes were tied to his wife’s allegation of rape!).
Barlett herself was charged with a whole host of crimes, including five counts of using a computer to commit a crime, two counts of stalking, and making a false report of a felony. In the end however, she accepted a plea agreement. In return she will be making a guilty plea to false report of a felony, unauthorized access to a computer, identity theft, stalking, and lying to a police officer. She’ll be convicted felon. Thankfully it’s her that will end up as a felon rather than the Eaton County Deputy Sheriff that she fasely accused of raping her.
False allegations of sex crimes are a really big deal!
Being lied about sucks. Being falsely accused of a crime is a terrible feeling. But having someone accuse you of a sex crime when you did nothing wrong has got to be one of the worst feelings in the world! But you don’t have to, and certainly shouldn’t walk that road alone! At The Kronzek Firm, our experienced trial team has handled countless sex assault cases over the decades. This is our bread and butter.
We’ve successfully handled cases where people have made false allegations against someone for a variety of reasons, and we were able to protect their reputation and keep them out of prison. Being falsely accused of a sex crime is devastating, but you don’t have to let it ruin your life. When you’re ready to hire an aggressive criminal defense attorney to fight rape charges in Michigan, The Kronzek Firm is ready to fight for you! Call 866 766 5245 (866 7No Jail) today and let us protect your future.We’ve been doing this for 25 years.