GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — FOX 17 is learning more regarding an investigation into a Marine recruiter, accused of making inappropriate contact with female students in the Grand Haven area.
WATCH HERE: Superintendent: Military recruiter charged with criminal sexual conduct recruited at Grand Haven High School
The Ottawa County Sheriff's Office says they began investigating 28-year-old Nicholas Phelps back in August of 2025, and in early January of 2026, he was arrested and arraigned on charges related to criminal sexual conduct.
Monday night, during the Grand Haven Area Schools School Board Meeting, Superintendent Kristin Perkowski addressed the investigation and confirmed that Phelps had been a recruiter at Grand Haven High School.
Perkowski says in April of 2025, the Marines removed him from the high school and replaced him with another recruiter with no explanation.
In August of 2025, she says there was a silent observer tip called into the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department and given to an investigator.
Later that month, the Superintendent and a couple of other district leaders were notified. Perkowski further explains that as a result, no marine recruiters have been allowed on campus since September.
On the ban, she said, "This is going to continue until there is resolution to the situation and there is an assurance of safety to all of our students."
The superintendent also shared a letter from the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office in an effort to provide more clarity on the investigation.
The letter reads in part:
"Sheriff's office personnel immediately took measures to prevent the subject from having further contact with students and learned that at the time the investigation began, Phelps was no longer working in a recruitment role and had no access to students."
"Detectives also worked closely with school resource deputies in Ottawa County and the other affected county school districts. Due to the suspect's role as a military recruiter, he regularly visited dozens of schools throughout the state of Michigan, and the sheriff's department is not aware of any inappropriate sexual conduct occurring at any school building or on any school property at any district in Ottawa County."
The letter also says the "investigation continues to attempt to learn if other students may have been victimized by Phelps throughout the state of Michigan."
The Ottawa County Sheriff's Office says if you have any information, you can reach out to them or Silent Observer.
