LeRoy man pleads guilty to paying teen for sex; Contact was over 2-month period

Published 6:00 am Sunday, July 26, 2015

A LeRoy man has pleaded guilty to paying a 13-year-old who worked for him to have sex over a two-month period.

Vandeweerd

Vandeweerd

Richard Vandeweerd, 54, pleaded guilty Friday to third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a victim 13 to 15 years old as part of a plea agreement.

According to a court complaint, Vandeweerd had asked the victim to work for him on weekends cleaning and taking care of farm work.

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After a while, Vandeweerd allegedly started asking her if she would fool around with him, meaning to have sex with him, or so the victim told police on Feb. 24.

The victim said Vandeweerd allegedly would smoke marijuana with her, then they would engage in sexual acts.

This allegedly happened on three weekends over a two-month period, according to the complaint.

Vandeweerd later admitted to having sex with the victim on his couch and providing marijuana. He told police he would pay the victim $100 for sex.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 10.