LANSING -- Imprisoned ex-Macomb County Sheriff William Hackel was granted parole Tuesday and will be released from prison next month, a spokesman for the state Department of Corrections said.

Hackel was in prison on a third-degree criminal sexual conduct conviction for raping a 25-year-old woman in Mount Pleasant during a 1999 sheriff's convention.

Hackel will be released April 24 and will be on parole for two years, Corrections Department spokesman Leo Lalonde said.

Hackel is serving a three- to 15-year sentence in a Kentucky federal prison. Michigan Parole Board Chairman John Rubitschun met with Hackel at the Lexington, Ky., prison earlier this month.

The Michigan Court of Appeals recently rejected an appeal to have his rape conviction thrown out.

Hackel's lawyers say the 25-year-old woman has claimed she was assaulted by four different men over the course of her life.

Hackel served as sheriff for 23 years. His son Mark was elected to the post in November 2000 and began serving a four-year term Jan. 1, 2001.