LeRoy Township man allegedly paid teen for sex

Published 10:28 am Friday, March 13, 2015

A 54-year-old LeRoy Township man is accused of paying a 13-year-old who worked for him to have sex over a two-month period.

Vandeweerd

Vandeweerd

Richard Vandeweerd pleaded not guilty Thursday to three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a victim 13 to 15 years old.

According to a court complaint, Vandeweerd had asked the victim to work for him on weekends cleaning and taking care of farm work.

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After a while, Vandeweerd allegedly started asking her if she would fool around with him, meaning to have sex with him, or so the victim told police on Feb. 24.

The victim said Vandeweerd allegedly would smoke marijuana with her, then they would engage in sexual acts. This allegedly happened on three weekends over a two-month period, according to the complaint.

Vandeweerd later admitted to having sex with the victim on his couch and providing marijuana. He told police he would pay the victim $100 for sex.

Vandeweerd will next appear in court on July 24 and will face a jury trial on Aug. 3.