A former Ann Arbor Public Schools employee pleaded guilty last week to inappropriately touching a 10-year-old child he met through his employment at the Community Education and Recreation office, according to police.
Ryan Erskine, 31, pleaded guilty Friday to assault with intent to commit second-degree criminal sexual conduct on a child, Hamburg Township police Officer Alysha Garbacik said Monday. The incident took place in August 2012 in a Hamburg Township home while Erskine was baby-sitting the child, Garbacik said.
“There was a week in question in August when he was caring for the child,” Garbacik said.
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Garbacik said Erskine met the child through his work as an assistant in the Ann Arbor Community Education and Recreation School Age Child Care program. According to Erskine’s bio on the Rec and Ed website, he worked at Bach, Allen and Lawton elementary schools.
The inappropriate touching was not reported until October 2012, when Erskine was arrested. Livingston County Prosecutor William Valliencourt said he was originally charged with four counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct before accepting the plea deal.
Ann Arbor Public Schools spokeswoman Liz Margolis said Erskine was an employee of the district until October 2012. He started in 2001.
"We had learned about the potential criminal charges, so we put him immediately on administrative leave and then he was terminated," Margolis said Monday.
Garbacik said the Hamburg Township police are not investigating Erskine in relation to any other potential victims. Valliencourt said there are no other investigations into Erskine that he is aware of at this time.
Garbacik said Erskine refused to be interviewed by police before he was arrested.
The Livingston Daily reports Erskine told a judge, “I inappropriately touched (the victim) with intent to commit sexual desires.”
Valliencourt said Erskine is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 22. Each of the charges of assault with intent to commit second-degree criminal sexual conduct carries a maximum of five years in prison. The Livingston Daily reports the plea deal calls for no more than one year in jail.
Online records show Erskine is not lodged in the Livingston County Jail.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.