Jason
Pohl 3
LOVELAND
– A former Berthoud police officer who authorities say force-fed a 15-year-old
girl hot sauce, bound her hands with zip ties and hit her with ropes, pleaded
guilty on Friday afternoon to one count of child abuse.
Jeremy
Yachik, 37, previously admitted to the acts and said they were punishment
because his daughter wouldn't "communicate" with him, according to
his arrest affidavit in Larimer County Court. The case and subsequent cover-up
by others in the department ultimately prompted Berthoud police to be
dissolved; the Larimer County Sheriff's Office has since taken over law
enforcement operations.
Yachik
was arrested and released on bond in October and had been scheduled for a May
jury trial. However, Yachik this week agreed to plead guilty to the single
count of Class 2 misdemeanor child abuse in an effort to stave off the lengthy
trial. Yachik's attorneys declined to comment about the deal outside the
courtroom.
The
fired cop remains out on bond, and a three-hour sentencing hearing is set for
July 14. The Larimer District Attorney's Office said it will not recommend jail
and instead will leave sentencing up to the judge who could impose from three
to 12 months in jail.
The
investigation of the abuse allegations against Yachik was handled by Loveland
police after Ashley Saint-Roberts, Yachik's ex-fiancee who turned him in,
claimed Berthoud Police Chief Glen Johnson didn't respond to her attempts to
report Yachik in July. The Larimer County Sheriff's Office in October took over
numerous policing duties when the department came under fire for not responding
to or reporting those abuse allegations.
Sheriff
Justin Smith's top lieutenants conducted a top-to-bottom review of the
department, concluding the eight-officer force and support staff struggled with
"back-stabbing" and fear, and that ultimately led to the disbanding
of the department.
"Clearly,
the employees routinely fail to meet the standards set by town and police
department policies and procedures, up to and including employees in leadership
and management positions," Smith's aides wrote in the confidential report
previously obtained by the Coloradoan. The report also said the department
bought fully automatic military-grade machine guns, hired officers who showed
"glaring" signs of illegal and inappropriate behavior, and then gave
them "woefully inadequate" training.
The
sheriff's office has since taken over all town law-enforcement duties as part
of a multi-year agreement set to go into effect May 1.