SAGINAW, MI -- A 20-year-old man will spend up to five years in prison for sexually assaulting two girls while volunteering with Hemlock High School's band and track programs, prosecutors say.
Jeffrey Donald Church was given a sentence of one-and-a-half to five years in prison by Circuit Judge Darnell Jackson on Thursday, March 15.
According to Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Demond Tibbs, Church used his connection as a volunteer band instructor and volunteer track coach at Hemlock High School to sexually assault two girls, ages 14 and 15, in 2016.
The charges Church pleaded no contest to in February allege he engaged in sexual contact, once using a threat of force, according to court records.
In exchange for pleading to fourth- and second-degree criminal sexual conduct, prosecutors dismissed charges of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, which is potentially a life offense, and assault with intent to commit penetration, a 10-year felony.
Hemlock Public School District Superintendent Donald Killingbeck previously said swift action was taken after it was reported to school authorities.
"When the school was made aware of the situation involving Mr. Church, we immediately excused him from our campus, banned him from our campus and alerted police," Killingbeck said.
Killingbeck said Church graduated Hemlock High School the year before and volunteered to help out the track team.