Convicted sex offender pleads guilty to assaulting a child in Alton
A Caseyville man previously convicted of aggravated criminal sexual abuse has pleaded guilty to predatory criminal sexual assault of a child in Alton.
Eric W. Latchford, 45, pleaded guilty to the charge on Tuesday, Madison County Court records show.
According to the Alton Telegraph, Latchford sexually touched a girl between the ages of 2 and 4 between Jan. 24, 2008, and June 30, 2011. Someone familiar with the case had reported it to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, which turned it over to Alton police. The sexual assault charge was filed on March 28.
Latchford was a registered sex offender at the time of the assault after being convicted of sexual abuse of a 6-year-old in LaSalle County in 2001, the Illinois State Police Sex Offender Database shows. He was sentenced to four years probation.
In January 2011, Latchford pleaded guilty in Madison County to failing to report his change of address as a sex offender, and was sentenced to a year of probation.
As part of the plea deal, two other counts of the same sex assault charge were dropped, court records show. Latchford will be sentenced at a later date. The Telegraph reported that the conviction is susceptible to an enhanced sentence of up to 60 years in prison.
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