This week former Saginaw County firefighter Ryan Schilling, 48, was sentenced in accordance with his plea deal to at least 12 years in prison for sexually assaulting and raping boys living in his neighborhood. One of the survivors spoke at the sentencing as the defendant “maintained a sullen, stone-faced countenance.”
The teen’s mother told the court and the defendant: “You should be aware of the harm you did to the image of the badge you hid behind. You used that red truck to convey safety; you’re the farthest thing from safe.”
Also keeping an eye on the case of former DPD Sgt. Benjamin Wagner who is accused of being a serial rapist while he carried the DPD badge. He was arraigned in late March and remanded to jail without bond.
I can’t help but be reminded of pedophile Arch Sloan, who was a volunteer firefighter in Pennsylvania before he moved to Michigan and was most unwisely granted confidential informant status by DPD’s Ike McKinnon. And DPD cop Richard Clayton, who never had to seriously answer for apparently protecting Sloan on the eve of his arrest on child rape charges in the early 1980s. Clayton was subjected to a Garrity interrogation and was no doubt represented by some cop union attorney who made sure this went nowhere.
Also reminded of the numerous volunteer “firefighters” among the corporate job by day residents of monied but twisted Bloomfield Village back in the 1970s.
“You should be aware of the harm you did to the image of the badge you hid behind.”
Ex-firefighter Schilling will be too busy finding Jesus in the big house to ever get to that level of thought.
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The earlier March 2026 news article on his plea deal certainly has more details of the case, and may explain the dismissal of many other charges, and a sentence of 12 years instead of life in prison. But in reality, it is probably because those with a badge protect their own no matter what they did.
https://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw-bay-city/2026/03/ex-michigan-firefighter-pleads-to-sexually-abusing-2-minor-boys-he-plied-with-vapes-other-drugs.html
Great observations on the parallels to 50 years ago. Another parallel I see is that the victims said they had known Schilling since they were children as they all lived in separate residences within a mobile home park. This reminds me of the case where Richard Lawson was sent to prison. He molested 2 boys in his mobile home park in Warren, Michigan.
I also see Schilling’s father was a Township official in Swan Creek Township, Michigan for many years. He was also president of Tri Township Fire department.
Wasn’t Arch also a part time police officer in PA ?
I don’t remember that, but it would not surprise me. Child rape and sexual assault seemed to be his full-time job in both states before his incarceration.
God only knows what he did and was not caught.