Published: September 30, 2008 08:00 pm      

Man pleads no contest to molesting boys

BEULAH -- A Benzie County man accused of molesting several boys pleaded no contest to criminal charges.

Frankfort resident William R. Tooley, 43, pleaded no contest Friday to one count of accosting a minor for immoral purposes, a four-year felony, and one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, a two-year misdemeanor.

Those charges stemmed from the same victim, a court spokeswoman said, and two other criminal sexual conduct charges tied to two other boys were dismissed as part of a plea deal. A no contest plea is treated the same as a guilty plea for sentencing purposes, and Benzie Circuit Judge James Batzer is set to sentence Tooley Oct. 21.

The plea is a step closer to the end of a case that's caused a buzz in Frankfort and the surrounding area.

"The community as a whole is happy to have the closure ... especially with the young victims involved in this," Benzie Undersheriff Rory Heckman said.

It's a good thing the case won't go to trial, Heckman added.

"When you reach a plea bargain, you don't force the young victims to testify," he said.

Benzie County Prosecutor Anthony Cicchelli didn't return a call for comment.

Michigan State Police and the Benzie County Sheriff's Department worked together to investigate allegations Tooley molested two male family members after a relative approached police in December. More victims came forward after Tooley was arrested in late February, and more charges were filed.

All victims were under 14 at the time of the assaults, and one was as young as 8 or 9, investigators previously said. The oldest assault dated back about three years.

State police trooper Rick Doehring handled some of the complaints. He doesn't believe Cicchelli was tough enough on Tooley.

"I think it should have been a little bit harder, but that's not my job ... I think a little more severe plea would have been better," he said.

Tooley for about two years worked as a maintenance supervisor at the Betsie Bay Inn in Frankfort. Lesley Perkins, the Inn's owner, couldn't be reached for comment.