MSU employee pleads guilty to disturbing the peace
By Brittany Shammas (Last updated: 07/30/09 6:36pm)A university employee who was arraigned on counts of prostitution, accosting and soliciting pleaded guilty Wednesday in East Lansing’s 54-B District Court to a lesser charge of disturbing the peace.
University interior designer Samuel Eagan, 30, was arrested July 17 by MSU police, charged with prostitution, accosting and soliciting. According to court records, the arresting officer also is the victim of the crime. MSU police declined to comment on the case, as it remains open until sentencing. MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor declined to give a copy of the incident report to The State News, saying the case still is under investigation. The role of the arresting officer was not elaborated on by Taylor.
Under a plea agreement made Wednesday with District Court Judge David Jordon, the charge against Eagan was amended to disturbing the peace.
Ingham County Assistant Prosecutor Lisa McCormick said Eagan faces a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $500 fine. The maximum penalty for prostitution, accosting and soliciting is 93 days in jai and a $500 fine, she said.
Although prosecutors do not issue a case unless they believe it can be proved beyond reasonable doubt, some cases, such as Eagan’s, are resolved before trial, McCormick said. Eagan’s prior history, role in the community and job were considered along with the facts of the case in reaching the plea agreement, McCormick said.
“We always take into account someone’s prior history, what they’re doing in the community, job — we take everything into account,” she said.
It is not unusual for an individual to be charged with prostitution, accosting and soliciting, nor is it unusual for that charge to be amended to a charge of disturbing the peace, McCormick said.
Eagan’s attorney, John English, declined to comment on the case “due to the circumstances.”
Eagan said he did not wish to discuss the case until its completion. His sentencing is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. Sept. 2 before Jordon.
Originally Published: 07/30/09 6:36pm
Oldest Profession
07/31/09 12:25amDunno what accosting means, but it otherwise sounds like another nonviolent, victimless crime. How many non-violent pot smokers and pushers do we have in prison, huh Jenny Granholm? Why not save tens of millions and put these private citizens back into society.
Bunny
07/31/09 4:42amSo far the last two weeks have provided my favorite articles, ranging from vandalized tampon machines, an amusing craigslist “encounter”, and male prostitutes…God, I love SN
"Oldest Profession" is out of touch
07/31/09 10:04amWhat exactly does this have to do with Governor Granholm? Though she is Governor, you do understand that the legislature passes law and she signs them, right?
And why does EVERYTHING always have to be political.
“Oldest Profession”, it must be Bush’s fault you are an idiot.
a journalist
07/31/09 11:06amThey won’t give you incident report….well, um FOIA IT!!!! Duh.
merry coder
07/31/09 12:15pmALEXA! it says jai instead of jail. fixy fixy!
Not a typo
07/31/09 5:03pmMerry coder it’s no ta typo. The sentence for gay prostitution is 30 days in Jai… as in Jai Rodriguez from Queer Eye.
How that’s a punishment for gay prostitutes, I’ll never know.
Ian Wright
07/31/09 11:34pmAs a quick note to the “out of touch” commenter: Everything has a political side, what’s personal is political and vice versa. Most everything can be traced back to a power struggle with certain factions opposed. There is quite possibly a political context to this charge of which we are all unaware.
Bleeding Green
08/01/09 5:13pmThe political piece yer missing is this is a employee of MSU, truly “fooling” around where he works. So my tuition dollars are going to be spent on time and money to prosecute him. Seems like employees should have to follow a code of conduct,and at least take that behavior into Lansing or Meridian Township and not in EL
Sol Bilderberg
08/01/09 9:15pmThe charge is disturbing the Peace, right?!?
“Disturbing the peace is typically considered a misdemeanor.”
So why are you making a simple misdemeanor a FRONT PAGE TABLOID HEADLINE? Is he an elected official? Could it be that it was just a simple misunderstanding that got completely out of hand?
...View full comment »
Some Guy
08/02/09 2:01pm“a journalist”: Don’t you remember the last time the State News did a FOIA on something MSU police didn’t want to give up? They spent over $100,000 to find out information they already knew.
Everyone else having the kneejerk reaction, IT’S SUMMER IN EAST LANSING. There’s not much going on since we’re not burning the place down, screaming loudly about tuition yet or complaining about freshmen.
People who think The State News is the NY Times really need to lighten up.
Sol Bilderberg
08/02/09 2:27pmRE: SOME GUY
We don’t expect the State News to be the New York Times; we expect the Journalistic Standards to be just as high!
If they don’t have the facts, rather than present a biased, one-sided viewpoint, they should keep to the facts or wait until they have some.
It is a Disurbing the Peace/misdemeanor charge;this we know for sure.
...View full comment »
Student
08/02/09 4:37pmThe FIOA does not apply to local agencies thus “The State News” cannot use it to gain access to an open criminal case: “The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Title 5 of the United States Code, section 552, generally provides that any person has the right to request access to federal agency records or information. All agencies of the U.S.
...View full comment »
08/02/09 5:02pmI’m and confused, where is thread headed to anyway?
Sol Bilderberg
08/02/09 6:36pmYour assertion that state and local municipalities do not comply with FOIA is NOT accurate.
I know for a fact that ALL government agencies are supposed to comply with FOIA. Obviously, there are exceptions—like active criminal investigations, top secret military intelligence, et cetera. Both state and city governments comply with FOIA requests.
Where we are going with this thread? We are requesting the State News be more responsible, get the facts straight first, before they completely trash a guy in their newspaper—for a “disturbing the peace” misdemeanor.
Sol Bilderberg
Not your tuition dollars
08/03/09 1:24amSo my tuition dollars are going to be spent on time and money to prosecute him.
Not true. Contrary to popular belief, MSU doesn’t run our local government, which includes the DA’s office.
Bleh
08/03/09 1:39amRe: Student
Good work regarding the Federal FOIA, but most (all?) states, including Michigan, have state FOIAs that apply to public bodies within the state, such as the ELPD. Michigan’s is 1976 P.A. 442, codified as MCL 15.231-46. Have a look at http://legislature.mi.gov .
Sol Bilderberg
08/08/09 9:30amWhy would a member of the Greater Lansing Gay Men’s Chorus do anything of the sort? Seriously, could this just be one big misunderstanding?
Sol Bilderberg