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Former officer sentenced for sex crime, drugs
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by Jessica Peterson
Tuesday, January 22, 2002
Former Madison Police Department Public Information Officer Benjamin B. Vanden Belt was placed on a four-year probation Dec. 27 after pleading no contest to two misdemeanor sex offenses and a felony drug offense.
Vanden Belt, 30, was charged in Dane County Circuit Court after being accused of having sex with a 17-year-old boy and providing him with cocaine.
The teenager told police he and Vanden Belt had sex about 20 times and used cocaine at Vanden Belt’s residence on three occasions.
Vanden Belt faced charges of illegal activity, which allowed MPD to conduct an internal investigation of his actions.
Lt. Mary Schauf of MPD internal affairs said any illegal activity falls under the department’s unlawful conduct policy and can be used as grounds for dismissal.
“We determined that he had violated department policy, and the chief was then able to vacate the office,” Schauf said.
Vanden Belt’s subsequent convictions made him ineligible for any positions at the police department, Scauf said.
At the December hearing, Vanden Belt’s attorney, Stephen Hurley, asked Dane County Circuit Court Judge William Foust to not put Vanden Belt on the state’s Registry of Sexual Offenders because he does not pose a threat to the community if he successfully completes his probation.
Sensitive crime specialist Mark Kerman said Vanden Belt’s crime was not a mandatory-registration crime because it was not sexual assault and was not “sexually motivated.”
“There was no allegation that the sexual contact was nonconsensual,” Kerman said.
Kerman said the age difference between Vanden Belt and the teenager warranted the sex offense charges, not the sexual conduct.
Vanden Belt faced maximum penalties of a $540,000 fine and 16 years in prison. Upon successful completion of his probation, Vanden Belt will be allowed to petition the court to reduce his felony drug conviction to a misdemeanor.
