71-Year-Old Benzie Man Gets 22.5 to 75 Years for Child Sexual Assaults

Eric Harris, 71, pleaded guilty Jan. 6, 2026, to one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and was sentenced Feb. 17 in Benzie County’s 19th Circuit Court to 22 to 50 years in prison, according to WPBN/WGTU and MLive. Benzie County prosecutors had charged Harris with three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct before the January plea.

“The Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office began investigating alleged sexual assaults in May 2025,” a probe that, investigators reported, “included alleged incidents from 2003 to 2017.” Grand Traverse County authorities initially opened the case after receiving information in May 2025; MLive and WPBN/WGTU report the Benzie County charges focus on offenses that allegedly occurred in Benzie County between 2003 and 2005.

Michigan State Police later took over the investigation after investigators determined the alleged assaults occurred at multiple locations across the state, WPBN/WGTU reported. That account also states the case “involved one victim.” Prosecutors in Benzie County filed three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct against Harris before he entered the guilty plea in January.

Reporting on the sentence contains a discrepancy: WPBN/WGTU, MLive and Manisteenews describe the judgment as 22 to 50 years, while an original report provided to this compilation listed the sentence as 22.5 to 75 years, stating, “He was sentenced to 22.5 to 75 years in prison.” Manisteenews used the phrase “up to 50 years” in its summary of the Benzie County sentence.

The plea and sentencing filings in 19th Circuit Court have not been attached to the news accounts; court records would clarify whether sentences are concurrent or consecutive, the exact minimum and maximum terms entered by the judge, and whether the January plea agreement resolved the other two counts against Harris. Benzie County Prosecutor’s Office records and the 19th Circuit Court docket remain the authoritative sources to reconcile the conflicting published figures and to confirm whether any related charges exist in other counties after the Michigan State Police multijurisdictional review.

Local officials have not released victim-identifying information; WPBN/WGTU’s reporting is the only source among the published accounts to explicitly state the investigation “involved one victim.” No victim names, ages or impact statements were included in the materials reviewed for this article.

Residents seeking official confirmation of the sentence or court filings can contact the Benzie County 19th Circuit Court clerk or the Benzie County Prosecutor’s Office for the judgment of sentence and plea agreement documents. Journalists and public records requesters should obtain the sentencing order to verify the final terms recorded by the court and to resolve the differing published accounts of Harris’s prison term.