A former Fruitport High School secretary charged with having sex with a student waived both her preliminary exam in District Court and her arraignment in Circuit Court last week.
Sandra Lynn Fielstra, 40, is free on $25,000 personal recognizance bond while she waits for a pre-trial conference and a trial date to be set, according to Muskegon County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Timothy Maat. That was an increase from her original $10,000 bond.
Fielstra, who was a contract employee for the Fruitport school district at the time, was charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct when she was arraigned earlier this month in Muskegon County District Court. Maat said the woman faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the charge.
Fielstra is alleged to have had sexual intercourse with a 16-year-old Fruitport High School student during the 2014-15 school year, Maat said.
Earlier reports of the timeframe were not accurate, the prosecuting attorney said. The incident did not occur on school grounds, Maat said.
The victim’s father notified police about the incident in August 2015.
Maat said that Fielstra was on probation for a drunken driving charge at the time of the incident. She was given 18 months of probation when sentenced for second-offense drunken driving in June 2015. Her first drunken driving charge was from 2012 in Muskegon County, Maat said.
Fielstra was an Ottawa County resident at some time during the investigation, Maat said. She does not have a criminal record in Ottawa County.
(2016 © Grand Haven Tribune)
