Coopersville man accused of assaulting step-granddaughter takes plea

Kayla Tucker
Updated ·1 min read
As several departments prepare to move over to a new courthouse, both the 58th District Court and 20th Circuit Court will move virtual case files to a new online management system.

GRAND HAVEN — An imprisoned Coopersville man who was granted a retrial on a criminal sexual conduct case instead opted to take a plea deal this month and was sentenced back to prison, the Grand Haven Tribune reports.

Stephen Chesla pleaded guilty on Jan. 8 in the Ottawa County 20th Circuit Court to assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct. Two charges — criminal sexual conduct in the first degree and criminal sexual conduct in the second degree — were dismissed.

More: Coopersville man accused of assaulting step-granddaughter granted new trial

Chesla was then sentenced on Jan. 11 to a minimum of 80 months, 6.6 years, and a maximum 120 months, 10 years, in prison, with 752 days credit. Upon release, Chesla will be required to register as a sex offender.

Chesla was previously convicted of criminal sexual conduct and sentenced to 25-40 years in prison in 2021 after his step-granddaughter accused him of touching her inappropriately.

In July 2023, the Michigan Court of Appeals granted Chesla a new trial on the grounds he did not have adequate legal representation. The appeal centered around an unredacted audio recording of an interview between Chesla and a detective.

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Chesla argued his counsel should have redacted the interview and the Court of Appeals agreed the recording “improperly bolstered” the victim’s testimony, granting Chesla a new trial.

Chesla decided to take a plea deal instead of going back on trial, circuit court staff confirmed to the Tribune on Thursday. The trial had been scheduled to begin Jan. 30.

— Sentinel reporter Mitchell Boatman contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Coopersville man accused of assaulting step-granddaughter takes plea