MI: Former sheriff and convicted rapist, William Hackel, eligible for parole in April

Bonnie Lee - Jan 1, 2003 2:15 am
Edited by Dec 31, 2002 6:16 pm

Former sheriff William Hackel eligible for parole in April

By Macomb Daily Staff and Wire Reports December 26, 2002

Imprisoned former Macomb County Sheriff William Hackel has lost an appeal for his conviction for raping a female acquaintance at a law enforcement conference.

The Michigan Court of Appeals, in a unanimous decision released Monday, affirmed the ex-lawman's convictions and his 3-to-15-year sentence for third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

Hackel, spending his second Christmas behind bars at a Kentucky federal prison, is eligible for parole in April.

"That is just sad," said Gerald Medley, a retired sheriff's detective. "I really feel bad for his mother, his wife and his family, especially at this time of year."

Hackel served 24 years in the sheriff's office now held by his son, Mark.

He was convicted in 2000 of raping a 25-year-old woman in 1999 in her hotel room at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mount Pleasant. Hackel, who turned 61 earlier this month, had claimed the two had consensual sex, but the woman insisted she had been sexually assaulted.

In the appeal, Hackel said his attorneys should have been allowed to challenge testimony from the woman's mother that he said indicated that the woman was after money in a civil lawsuit.

The victim, now 27, has filed a pair of civil lawsuits seeking damages above $25,000 for distress and anxiety. Both lawsuits have been dismissed.

Hackel's appeal also said the court should have declared a mistrial when it learned a juror had been offered a job by police involved in the rape investigation, and that his attorneys had provided an inadequate defense.

But the appeals court ruled Michigan law restricting testimony about a complaintant's sexual past could be used to restrict questioning of the woman's mother. It also said that the trial court acted properly when it dismissed the juror with the job offer.

A call to David Griem, Hackel's appeal attorney, was not returned Wednesday. In the past, Griem had called the case against the former sheriff "an extremely weak one." It is not known whether Hackel will pursue the appeal to a higher court.

Meanwhile, Hackel continues to remain a popular figure among his friends and colleagues in Macomb County. They've held fund-raisers to help him pay an estimated $100,000 in legal bills.

"No one will ever make me believe Bill raped that woman," said Medley, who has known Hackel since both were teen-agers.

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