Former UP lawmaker and school resource officer convicted of sexually assaulting boy

MENOMINEE, MI (WLUK) — Brian Helfert, a former Menominee County sheriff’s deputy and school liaison officer, was sentenced Friday to 40 to 60 months in prison after being convicted of criminal sexual conduct.

The charges filed in 2022 involve the sexual assault of a 13-year-old boy during the 2017-2018 school year. According to the criminal complaint, Helfert was a school resource officer at Blesch Middle School at the time and the victim was a sixth-grader.

The presiding judge in Friday’s case called Helfert a “monster” and imposed the maximum sentence allowed by law. The verdict is the result of an agreement reached in July between the prosecutor and Helfert’s defense attorney.

Helfert was initially charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault for sexually assaulting a sixth-grader. As part of his plea agreement, the charges were changed to a single count of attempted first-degree sexual contact.

Helfert also waived the right to appeal previous convictions.

Helfert is already a convicted sex offender. After a trial that ended in December 2023, Helfert was found guilty of second-degree sexual abuse with a weapon. He was sentenced to a minimum of nine and a maximum of 15 years in prison on that charge on March 7.

Friday’s verdict involved a different case and a different victim.

Helfert is serving the 40- to 60-month sentence concurrently with his 9- to 15-year sentence.

Helfert also worked at Menominee High School, targeting teenage boys there between 2003 and 2019.