Jury takes less than two hours to convict Granite City man of sexually abusing girl

A Madison County jury took less than two hours to find a 54-year-old man guilty of sexually assaulting a 6-year-old.

John Webb, of Granite City, was convicted Thursday on one count of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

“The true hero in this case is the courageous seven-year-old victim. She stood up in court, told the jurors about the terrible things that happened to her, and made sure that justice could be done here,” said Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine. “We will be seeking the maximum possible prison sentence for the defendant for his appalling criminal abuse of this child.”

The predatory criminal sexual assault of a child charge is a Class X felony, punishable by up to 60 years in an Illinois prison. The other two counts carry a possible sentence of up to seven years each. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.

Associate Judge Ron Slemer presided over the case.

In August of 2020, Granite City police responded to a complaint involving Webb and the female victim, who was 6-years-old at the time. An investigation that involved the Madison County Child Advocacy Center, determined that the abuse had gone on since February of 2019, according to the indictments.

Haine thanked credited the investigation by Granite City Police and Child Advocacy Center for their work in the investigation. He also recognized Assistant States Attorneys Alison Foley and Emily Bell for their prosecution of the case.