POLICE OFFICER IS CONVICTED

The former spokesman for the Madison Police Department pleaded no contest
Thursday to two misdemeanor counts of having sex with a 17-year-old boy and
one felony count of giving him cocaine.

Under a plea agreement Benjamin Vanden Belt, 30, was sentenced to four
years of probation. He agreed not to contest his status with the Police
Department, ending his four-year career.

On Dec. 11, Police Chief Richard Williams used a city ordinance on
misconduct to vacate Vanden Belt's position. The move meant the city no
longer had to pay Vanden Belt, who had been suspended with pay since Aug.
31, said Lt. Mary Schauf of the department's professional standards and
internal affairs unit.

Thursday's court action also canceled a termination hearing before the
city's Police and Fire Commission requested Dec. 6 by Williams.

According to court records, Vanden Belt does not have to register as a sex
offender but is required to take part in a police debriefing to make sure
he did not compromise any investigations because of his drug and alcohol
use - something Schauf does not believe occurred. "We have an obligation to
make sure it didn't affect other cases," she said.

District Attorney Brian Blanchard said many things are considered in a plea
agreement, including the defendant's criminal past and the level of
cooperation.

"We tried to treat him like anybody else. I think the disposition is a
reasonable one," Blanchard said.

Two other counts of having sex with a child 16 or older were dismissed.
Vanden Belt could have faced up to 33 years in prison.

"We wanted a disposition that was fair under all the circumstances," said
Vanden Belt's attorney, Steve Hurley. "I think he's acted very responsible
and is being accountable for his actions."

According to a criminal complaint: Vanden Belt met the boy at a dance at
the Memorial Union in April. The boy told police that they first became
intimate around May and that the sex was consensual. The boy told police
that he used cocaine with Vanden Belt about three times and that he
pressured Vanden Belt to give him the drug.

The boy attended Thursday's court proceedings with his parents, who
submitted a letter to the court.

"Communities look to police departments to serve and to protect, to act as
role models for the people of that community, especially the children and
adolescents. Ben has failed these professional responsibilities in the law
enforcement profession," the letter stated. "His actions demean the word
professional."