Former Eaton Rapids teacher charged in sex assault dies by suicide

LANSING — An Eaton County sexual assault case dating to the late 1990s ended last weekend when the suspect − a former teacher and coach in the Eaton Rapids school district − died by suicide, officials said.

Michigan State Police responded to a residence in Union City in Branch County on Saturday and found Kenneth Lyle Mazur, 76, dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, confirmed Spl/Lt. DuWayne Robinson, public information officer for MSP's Fifth District.

Mazur was ordered to stand trial early last month on two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct stemming from a relationship he had with a girl beginning in 1997, when she was 15. At the time, he was a math teacher and volleyball coach at Eaton Rapids High School, and the girl was on the volleyball team.

Prosecutors declined to authorize criminal charges after the alleged victim first came forward in 2002, determining she was at least 16 − the legal age of consent − when the relationship began. But the woman came forward again in 2021, and charges were authorized after proseuctors determined she was 15 when Mazur first had sexual contact with her.

Chief Assistant Eaton County Prosecutor Chris Anderson said he was notified of Mazur's death on Sunday.

Prosecutors said Mazur had an inappropriate relationship with a girl that continued for years. The former coach and teacher gave the girl gifts, sent her love letters and took advantage of someone he knew had been orphaned, they said.

Mazur did not deny having a sexual relationship with the student but contended he was not in a position of authority and did not use his postion to coerce her to submit to sex acts.

He resigned from the Eaton Rapids district after the alleged victim first came forward in 2002.

Services for Mazur were set for Wednesday afternoon in Union City.

Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on X @KBPalm_lsj.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Eaton Rapids teacher Ken Mazur accused of sex assault dies by suicide