Former wrestler informed police of sex offender status, but not student status

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Former Central Michigan University wrestler David A. Cheatham informed area police of his sex offender status before arriving on campus last fall.

The 19-year-old Zeeland freshman wrote a full disclosure statement, which was reviewed by admissions, housing and local police, before he arrived on campus, Cheatham said. But he neglected to tell police he was going to attend CMU.

He pleaded guilty to failing to comply with the Michigan Sex Offender Registry Act Wednesday.

“(Cheatham) failed to notify the police department or any other law enforcement agency that (he is) a CMU student,” said his attorney, Charles Moses. “That is a violation of this act.”

Cheatham first registered as a sex offender at 14, when he was convicted in 2006 of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person under the age of 13, according to Michigan’s Public Sex Offender Registry.

Judge Mark H. Duthie reduced the felony to a high court misdemeanor as part of the plea process.

“(He lowered it) in part because he felt like that was proportional to what happened here,” said Isabella County Prosecutor Larry Burdick. “My guess is that he’s going to be put on probation. The question will be whether the judge is going to include, as a condition of probation, a period of incarceration up front.”

Cheatham said he thinks his punishment might be a little harsh, but he also understands he violated the law.

The dual-sport high school athlete was accepted as a walk-on to the wrestling team and was planning to join the track team in the spring. He was dismissed from the wrestling team in January.

Future at CMU

Cheatham appealed the Athletics Department’s decision the week of Feb. 7, but the decision was upheld, said Athletics Director Dave Heeke.

“How athletes represent themselves, the university and certainly the athletic program are key to our code of conduct,” Heeke said.

Any athlete can be dismissed for a code of conduct violation, Heeke said.

Cheatham said he plans to finish out the semester at CMU, but is not sure if he will stay afterward. He said he does not want to transfer to a Division 2 school.

“I came to CMU to be a wrestler and a student,” Cheatham said. “My goal is to be a D1 athlete.”

Cheatham said he was sorry for the negative press the incident has generated for the wrestling team and the university.

Cheatham, a resident of Tallgrass Apartments, 1240 E. Broomfield Road, also pleaded guilty of one count of possession of a stolen object valued at less than $200.

He said the stolen object charge, based on a CMU parking permit in his possession, came as a surprise to him. Cheatham said he was covering for a friend who took the permit, thinking neither would encounter problems.

“The person who owned the parking permit didn’t want to press charges, that’s why I didn’t think I was going to get in trouble,” Cheatham said. “Then a month later it got brought up in court.”

Cheatham will be sentenced April 4 in Isabella County Trial Court, 200 N. Main St.