©2011 Galesburg Broadcasting Co.
| Man Accused of Child Sexual Assault Hears Evidence During Court Hearing |
A Yates City man facing a felony charge that alleges he had sexual contact with a child made an appearance in Knox County Circuit Court Wednesday to hear testimony that could be brought up at his trial.
30-year old Christopher Perdue is charged with Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault of a Child, a Class-X felony which, Knox County Assistant State's Attorney Erik Gibson says, if convicted, could send Perdue to prison for up to 60 years.
The state called a number of witnesses to the stand during the pre-trial hearing to discuss statements made by a young girl to investigators and counselors who interviewed her since the alleged incidents occurred.
A family therapist testified that Perdue, who was the boyfriend of the girl's mother, would go into the child's bedroom that she shared with her younger sister and perform sexual acts on her. The accuser told the therapist that Perdue would sometimes bandage her to the bed so she couldn't get away, and he would even take her out of school and assault her when the two returned home.
The therapist testified that she believed the girl because of her consistent statements and her body movements during the interview.
The defense countered that the girl's behavior could also be the same as someone who isn't being truthful or was following a script.
The court also viewed and listened to two DVD's of other interviews the girl did with a forensic interviewer and an investigator with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
The girl's grandmother now has custody her and her older brother.
Final arguments by the state are due to the court by September 25th, and the defense will be allowed another week for rebuttal. Perdue's trial is scheduled to begin next month. |
|
| 09 17 09 by Newsroom |
Click here for the WGIL News Archive
Click here for national news
The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.
