GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WZZM) – Former Kent County Assistant Prosecutor Mark Vandermolen told a judge he hoped to develop a relationship with the woman he's convicted of stalking.
"I've been divorced for some years; I want to be married more than anything else,'' he told Kent County Circuit Court Judge Christopher Yates today. "I was hoping we'd be able to have a relationship.''
That obviously won't happen. Yates placed Vandermolen on probation for two years and ordered that he have no contact with the victim, whom Vandermolen met at a downtown Grand Rapids swing dance in July, 2014.
"This is a difficult case for everyone involved,'' Yates said. "I know this has had a profound impact on her,'' he said, referring to the victim who also addressed the court on Tuesday.
"This has forever changed my life in a negative way,'' she said. "I'm constantly in fear of being attacked by him or others.''
Vandermolen, 61, who served as an assistant prosecutor for nearly 30 years before his retirement four years ago, acknowledged the impact the criminal case has had on his own life. "The pain that this has caused me is beyond my ability to describe,'' he said.
After a mistrial and five previous trial dates come and gone, Vandermolen in August pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of aggravated stalking for his lewd behavior during a date with the woman he met at Rosa Parks Circle.
The case went to trial in July, but was derailed when the presiding judge declared a mistrial due to juror misconduct.
With the case entering its second year, a special prosecutor handling the matter allowed Vandermolen to plead no contest to a reduced charge of aggravated stalking, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. He was originally charged with assault with intent commit sexual assault, a 10-year felony.
The victim told Grand Rapids police Vandermolen assaulted her July 11, 2014 at his home on Livingston Avenue NE near Trowbridge Street. The 41-year-old victim said she met Vandermolen at a swing dance event in downtown Grand Rapids July 8. They agreed to have dinner the following night, and once back at his home, the alleged assault occurred, court records show.
The case was handled by Ottawa County Assistant Prosecutor Lee F. Fisher because of Vandermolen's association with the Kent County prosecutor's office.
