Man charged in sexual assault of woman abducted from Collinsville shopping center
A 39-year-old man was charged Wednesday with aggravated sexual assault and kidnapping in connection with a report by a woman who told police she was abducted at knifepoint from a Collinsville shopping center parking lot and sexually assaulted in the Troy area.
Timothy J. Dubois Jr. of Shobonier, Illinois, was arrested Monday in Shobonier, which is south of Vandalia, according to Lt. Mark Kuechle of the Collinsville Police Department. The alleged attack occurred in November.
Dubois faces 10 counts of sexual assault and kidnapping charges. He was being held with no bond as ordered by Judge Neil Schroeder.
Kuechle said he could not comment on how investigators developed the case against Dubois.
“Since November 11, 2022, investigators from the Collinsville Police Department have engaged in a relentless pursuit of the suspect in this case,” the Collinsville Police Department said in a news release.
Dubois faces two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, enhanced with a 16-70 year sentencing range; two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault-Class X; four counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault-Class 2; and two counts of aggravated kidnapping-Class X.
“The circumstances of this abduction and sexual assault were unusually alarming – broad daylight, 7 a.m., in a vibrant business district, and an attacker who was unknown to the victim,” Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine said in a statement.
The victim told police she was in the Collinsville Crossing shopping center near the intersection of Interstate 55-70 and Illinois 157 at about 7:05 a.m. on Nov. 11 when a man approached her vehicle while she was waiting for an online order to be brought to her. The man had a knife and forced her to drive to the Troy area, where he sexually assaulted her, police said.
The suspect then drove the victim in her car back to the Collinsville shopping center and fled on foot at about 7:51 a.m.
Haine urged anyone with information about Dubois to contact the Collinsville Police Department at 618-344-2131.
“We continue to pray for the healing and strength of the victim in this case,” Haine said in his statement. “Due to the circumstances of the crime, we requested that the defendant be held with no bond. He will remain in custody until a hearing Friday on our request that he remain behind bars while awaiting trial.”
Haine and the Collinsville Police Department thanked all of the local, state and federal agencies that assisted in the investigation.
“The investigation that led to today’s charges was a testament to good old-fashioned police work combined with investigative techniques that are highly innovative – truly on the cutting edge,” he said.
This story was originally published March 8, 2023 at 5:02 PM.
