Sexual assault investigation against former House Speaker Lee Chatfield goes to Attorney General

Sister-in-law says Chatfield began abusing her when she was 15

LANSING, Mich. – The sexual assault investigation against former House Speaker Lee Chatfield is now in the hands of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, which is standard practice in these cases.

Michigan State Police have completed their investigation. The prosecutor’s office will now determine if there is a case and if charges will be filed.

The investigation began after Chatfield’s sister-in-law accused him of sexually assaulting her starting when she was 15 years old. The accusations of abuse go back 12 years when she was attending Northern Michigan Baptist Bible Church.

Chatfield was a teacher, a mens’ soccer coach and the athletic director during his time there. She said the abuse continued until July of last year.

Chatfield said he had an affair with her, but said it started when she was an adult. The attorney general’s office has not commented.

Read: Michigan House Democrats call for committee to investigate Chatfield


About the Authors

Nick joined the Local 4 team in February of 2015. Prior to that he spent 6 years in Sacramento covering a long list of big stories including wildfires and earthquakes. Raised in Sterling Heights, he is no stranger to the deep history and pride Detroit has to offer.

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.

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