Madison County man who said he was ‘delusional’ convicted of sexually assaulting child

A Madison County jury on Wednesday returned guilty verdicts against a Glen Carbon man accused of sexually assaulting a child.

The jury convicted Jesse W. Chartrand, 43, of one count of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Chartrand committed sexual acts with the child younger than the age of 13 between Aug. 17, 2019, and July 30, 2020, according to court documents.

An interview with the victim, which was conducted by staff of the Child Advocacy Center, and an interview of Chartrand, conducted by Glen Carbon Police with vital to the prosecution’s case, a release from the state’s attorney’s office stated.

Chartrand had claimed that he suffered delusions and asked jurors to find him not guilty by reason of insanity.

Assistant State’s Attorney Emily Bell argued that Chartrand was trying to “excuse his behavior.” She showed jurors video recording of Chartrand’s police interview.

“He was legally sane,” Bell said in her closing argument. “He is responsible for what he did.”

Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine said in a statement that the investigation started with the child being able to talk with a skilled interviewer at the Child Advocacy Center about what happened.

“The CAC plays a critical role in providing support to child victims and their families, and in helping to ensure they receive justice,” Haine said.

Haine also commended Bell and Assistant State’s Attorney Alison Foley, along with Glen Carbon Police, for their work on the case.

Predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, which is the more serious of the charges, is a class X felony and carries a sentence of six to 60 years in prison. Sentencing will be scheduled later.

“Crimes against children are the worst.” said Haine. “We continue to pray for the healing of the victim, who testified bravely in this case. We also thank the dedicated work of police, prosecutors and the staff at the Madison County Child Advocacy Center. Thanks to their tremendous work, this predator was convicted and is facing a long prison sentence.”