Madison County judge orders man accused of sexual assault of teenage girl to be released
A Granite City man charged in connection with the sexual assault of a then-13-year-old girl in a Pontoon Beach motel room has been released from custody as part of the state’s new criminal justice system of determining whether someone should be held in jail until their trial.
Christopher Stevenson, 35, faces two counts of criminal sexual assault, and a judge ruled Thursday he should released before his trial, according to Madison County court records.
The Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office had filed a petition seeking to keep Stevenson in jail before his trial because prosecutors believe he poses a “specific, real and present threat to any person or the community” and that he is accused of a “forcible felony” in a criminal sexual assault case.
In a detention hearing for Stevenson, Madison County Associate Judge Ryan Jumper denied the prosecution’s petition, according to court records. The release order noted that Stevenson “has been free nearly 18 months” since the crime alleged in the charging documents occurred. The order also states that Stevenson must be “restricted to work and home.”
Illinois ended its cash bail system on Sept. 18. Since then, Illinois judges have been conducting detention hearings to determine whether someone charged with serious offenses should remain in jail before their trial.
The victim was staying with Stevenson in a motel in Pontoon Beach when the reported assault occurred last year.
The petition to deny pretrial release for Stevenson alleges he carried the victim into the motel bathroom and assaulted her as the victim told him to stop.
The Pontoon Beach Police Department obtained a sample of Stevenson’s DNA, and laboratory results showed that his DNA was found as part of a sexual assault forensic exam performed on the victim, the petition alleges.
The Madison County Public Defender’s Office is representing Stevenson. A representative of the office could not be reached for comment Friday.
Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine also could not be reached for comment Friday.
Stevenson was charged in October but a judge allowed the charges to be sealed until he was arrested this week.
Assistant State’s Attorney Emily K. Bell had asked for the charges to be sealed because the investigation by the Pontoon Beach Police Department was still ongoing, the case may generate some media coverage and that public disclosure of the case would “jeopardize and hinder the ongoing investigation.”
Stevenson’s next court date is a preliminary hearing on Dec. 15.
This story was originally published December 1, 2023 at 6:05 PM.
