A mother fought back after discovering she was blackmailed by a Minnesota sheriff. Now she's speaking out.

A mother who was blackmailed by a Minnesota sheriff is speaking out for the first time in a WCCO Investigation. Darcey Duncan recently received a multimillion-dollar settlement for the abuse she endured. The former Chisago County sheriff pleaded guilty to criminal sexual conduct in 2023.

She told only Senior Investigative Reporter Jennifer Mayerle why she trusted the man who hurt her.

"My story is I was sexually assaulted by the sheriff of Chisago County, and now it's time to share my side of things," Darcey said.

Darcey is nearly a decade removed from the blackmail scheme carried out by then-Chisago County Sheriff Rick Duncan in 2017.

She said she trusted him because he was law enforcement. 

"I did, because they're supposed to protect us," Darcey said.

Duncan was also her brother-in-law. The mother of two first reported him in a 2021 police interview.

"He showed up at my house in uniform. And then he told me we were being blackmailed and he had a letter," Darcey told police at the time.

She told police that Duncan had convinced her the two of them were being blackmailed by someone in law enforcement and that Duncan said he'd protect her.

"This blackmailer wanted us to act like we were having an affair. If we didn't follow his rules, he'd kill my family and Rick's, too," Darcey told police in 2021.

But there was no blackmailer. It was a ploy by Duncan all along. The demands started with them recording her spanking the sheriff's bare butt and escalated over time. The ruse ended a few months later, but it took Darcey years to piece together what really happened. By that time, Duncan had resigned as sheriff, and he was sentenced for stalking in a similar scheme with a coworker.

"As soon as I figured it out, I just told myself that this isn't okay, this isn't appropriate. Something needs to happen," Darcey said.

So she went to the police.

"It was very scary for me to have to tell law enforcement, considering he is law enforcement. 'Do you think they're going to believe you?' That was my first thought. Are they going to believe me?" Darcey said.

Wyoming, Minnesota, police executed a search warrant at Duncan's home as part of the criminal investigation. 

"We're looking for electronic devices used for storage, as well as your electronic communication devices, as well as paper letters from a blackmailer to a victim," police told Duncan. 

During the criminal investigation, police recovered text messages from Duncan trying to keep Darcey quiet. Attorneys in her civil case provided WCCO Investigates video of the former sheriff's deposition.  

Attorney: What did you observe of her reaction when you were forcing her to have sex?

Duncan: Probably disgust.

Attorney: And what was your reaction?

Duncan: At that point, I didn't care.

"It just made me sick, because how could someone do this to someone else? Why would you want to ruin someone's family or their life?" Darcey said.

"The level of manipulation, and really grooming that went into this by the sheriff, was remarkable," Attorney Andy Noel with Robins Kaplan said.

Noel led the civil rights team, negotiating a settlement of $7.5 million with Chisago County. 

"It's accountability. This case, we have abuse of power, destruction of trust, the ability of one criminal sexual predator who's in a position of authority to wreck someone's life," Noel said.

Darcey says she's leaned on her parents to help get her through what Duncan did to her. 

"I was in a very bad spot for a very long time, but at some point you realize that you have to keep going. I have two children who need a mom," Darcey said.

She survived divorce, sees a therapist and wants other women to know there is hope. 

"I look back and I'm so glad I was strong enough; now I'm 10 times stronger. I don't let it define me in any way. And I'm a survivor," Darcey said.

A judge sentenced Duncan to six months in jail and supervised probation for 15 years. He also had to register as a sex offender.

Duncan is headed back to court in April for allegedly violating a restraining order involving Darcey last year. We reached out to Duncan's attorney, who said his client had no comment.

The Chisago County attorney provided this statement on the settlement:

"Chisago County and its insurer the Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust (MCIT) have negotiated a payment of $7.5 million to Ms. Duncan in exchange for a dismissal of her lawsuit and a release of the claims against the County. While the County strongly disagreed with the United States District Court's decision holding it responsible for Richard Duncan's disgusting conduct, this resolution helps avoid the potential of a larger jury verdict and uncertainty in an appeal before the Eighth Circuit. Chisago County did not indemnify or defend Richard Duncan in the litigation."