Belleville woman ‘thought she was going to die’ during home invasion and sexual assault
The woman who reported a man broke into her Belleville home and sexually assaulted her believed “she was going to die” in the attack, a St. Clair County prosecutor said in a detention hearing for the suspect Monday.
Tyrone D. Smith, a 31-year-old St. Louis man who was arrested and charged in connection with the assault, was ordered by Associate Judge Sara L. Rice to remain in the St. Clair County Jail until his trial.
Smith, of the 3800 block of South Grand Boulevard, was charged with eight offenses: home invasion, causing an injury; home invasion/sex offense; criminal sexual assault using force; residential burglary; receiving, possessing/sell stolen vehicle; aggravated battery/ great bodily harm; aggravated battery/strangle; and unlawful restraint.
In describing the case to Rice, St. Clair County Assistant State’s Attorney Levi Carwile said the victim was sexually assaulted, placed in a chokehold multiple times and forced into a closet that was blockaded by a dresser.
“She thought she was going to die,” Carwile said.
The victim said the attack happened about 5 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 5 and she wasn’t freed from the closet until about 2:25 p.m. that day when someone came to her house to check on her dog.
A charging document states the victim suffered a broken arm.
Smith was injured when the victim’s car was involved in a crash in Shelby County. He was under guard by police in a Springfield hospital before he was transferred to the St. Clair County Jail.
Belleville police have said there is no known link between the victim, who is in her 60s, and the man who allegedly forced his way into her home in the 1900 block of West A Street.
St. Clair County Public Defender Cathy MacElroy asked Rice that Smith be evaluated for his mental fitness to stand trial and to determine his sanity at the time of the incident.
MacElroy said Smith has denied sexually assaulting the victim.
Carwile noted that items stolen from the victim’s home were recovered after her car crashed in Shelby County. Smith has previously been sentenced to prison in Missouri.
Illinois ended its cash bail system on Sept. 18. Since then, Illinois judges have conducted detention hearings to determine whether someone charged with serious offenses should remain in jail before their trial.
Rice said since she has been conducting the detention hearings, she found Smith’s case “absolutely” was an example of the “dangerousness” of someone and that pretrial detention was necessary.
