Latest news with #ShiningStarChildren'sAdvocacyCenter
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Dixon man seeking to have 67-year prison sentence reduced in child sex assault, abuse case
May 21—DIXON — A Dixon man sentenced to almost 70 years in prison three months ago for sex-related crimes against a victim younger than 13 said his sentence is excessive and is asking that it be reduced. Jason E. Johnson, 52, pleaded guilty in September to one count each of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Lee County Judge Theresa Friel-Draper sentenced Johnson on Feb. 6 to 60 years in prison for predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and a consecutive seven-year prison sentence for aggravated criminal sexual abuse. It was the maximum sentence allowed under the law. A hearing has been set for 9 a.m. June 6 in Lee County Circuit Court on a motion to reconsider the sentence filed in February by Johnson's attorney, public defender Douglas Lathe. In that motion, Johnson said the sentences require that he must serve 85% of the 60-year sentence and 50% of the seven-year sentence, and that the sentence is excessive in light of the evidence presented to the court. According to the motion, the court did not fully consider an article of the Illinois Constitution that states "all penalties shall be determined both according to the seriousness of the offense and with the objective of restoring the offender to useful citizenship along with other authoritative considerations in mitigation." The motion also states that the court should take into consideration recommendations made in a psychological and psychosexual evaluation dated Nov. 17, 2022. [ Dixon man sentenced to 67 years in prison for sexually abusing child ] Johnson was arrested on the charges in May 2019, seven months after Dixon Police Department investigators learned of an allegation of sexual abuse against Johnson. During that investigation, officers learned from a child forensic interview conducted at the Shining Star Children's Advocacy Center in Dixon that Johnson had sexually abused and assaulted a girl who was between the ages of 11 and 12, and that he had done so multiple times, Lee County State's Attorney Charles Boonstra has said. Those charges all involve the same victim, and they were alleged to have occurred in 2013. Johnson was indicted in May 2019 on four counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a victim younger than 13 and five counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a victim younger than 13. Boonstra has said that as the case was being prosecuted, investigators became aware of reports of other possible victims, with allegations that each had been abused or assaulted by Johnson at ages varying from 4 to 17 years old. After further investigation, Lee County prosecutors charged Johnson on Sept. 29, 2020, with two more counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in connection with a 2011 assault in which the victim was at least 13 years old but younger than 17, according to charging documents. He pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in August 2022 and was sentenced in June 2024 to 180 days in the Lee County Jail, four years of probation and a $25,000 fine. The other charge was dismissed. Johnson then pleaded guilty Sept. 24 to two of the nine charges filed in 2019; the other seven were dismissed. Under that sentencing order, Johnson was given credit for 2,093 days served and ordered to register as a sex offender, according to court documents. Lee County Assistant State's Attorneys William Fawkes and Stephanie Sasscer are prosecutors in the case.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Yahoo
Dixon's Hands Around the Courthouse aims to raise child abuse prevention awareness
Apr. 28—DIXON — About 100 people gathered outside the Old Lee County Courthouse in Dixon on Friday afternoon holding up blue pinwheels, the national symbol for child abuse prevention, at Shining Star Children's Advocacy Center's third annual Hands Around the Courthouse. The event called attention to April's Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month. The 2025 theme is "Powered by hope and strengthened by connection," said Aram Perry, deputy director of child protection at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. "The pinwheel in a symbol of hope," Shining Star Executive Director Jessica Cash said. But the month is "about more than ribbons and posters and our pinwheels. It's about real children, real pain, and real hope. Thanks to the work of Shining Star Children's Advocacy Center that hope is alive and growing," Lee County Assistant State's Attorney Bridget Schott said. ExpandAutoplay Image 1 of 6 Approximately 100 people attend "Hands Around the Courthouse" Friday, April 25, 2025, to bring attention to Child Abuse Prevention Month. The blue pinwheel is a national symbol of child abuse prevention. (Alex T. Paschal) Shining Star is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit advocacy center serving those in Lee and Ogle counties. The center works with area law enforcement, prosecutors and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to investigate allegations of child abuse and, particularly, child sex abuse. Schott said in her 14 years as a prosecutor across Illinois, the best CAC she's worked with is Shining Star. "Our community really comes out and supports Shining Star and, by doing so, we as a community are telling our children we believe you," she said. At the event, one community member, Mel Burgett of Dixon, was honored for his longtime support of the center. One of the ways he does that is by not accepting payment for catching moles in others yards. Instead, Burgett asks others to donate to the center, Cash said. One of many services Shining Star provides is conducting forensic interviews with a child whom they suspect has been abused. The interview is designed so the child only has to tell their story once to a forensic interviewer who knows the right questions to ask in a way that does not retraumatize the child. Law enforcement professionals who need to see the interview can watch on a monitor in a separate room, Cash said. In 2024, the center conducted 181 interviews with new children coming to the center, Cash said. On average, the agency provides services to about 300 children in Lee and Ogle counties each year. Within that 300, about 150 to 250 of them are new to the center, she said. "That's just here in our community and while the statistics are staggering, what's even more heartbreaking is that behind every number is a child. A child who is scared, silenced and often suffering in isolation," Schott said. In Illinois there are 40 CACs, including Shining Star, that also provide referrals to mental health services, medical exams, courtroom preparation, victim advocacy and more. At Shining Star, the agency has a full-time counselor, who will provide individual counseling, as well as two support groups for teenagers and the child's parents or caregivers. Cash noted that all of the center's services are completely free to the children and their caregivers. It's entirely funded through federal and state grants, as well as donations and fundraisers. Shining Star has a T-shirt fundraiser and a jail and bail fundraiser that are ongoing through April. On its website, there's an ongoing wish list of in-need items, including things such as juice boxes, individual snacks, fleece blankets and more. Monetary donations can also be made on its website. Suspected child abuse can be reported to the DCFS Hotline at 1-800-25-ABUSE.
