Metro-east woman gets 40-year sentence in sexual assault of child

A 34-year-old Bethalto woman has received a 40-year prison sentence for committing a sexual act against a child and permitting her boyfriend to sexually abuse the child, the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office said.

Ashley L. Rusk was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty to one count of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and one count of permitting sexual abuse of a child, according to a news release from State’s Attorney Tom Haine.

“Rusk admitted to committing a sexual act against the child, who was younger than 13, in September 2023. She also admitted that, in February 2025, as a person responsible for the child’s welfare, she permitted her live-in boyfriend to sexually abuse the child,” the news release states.

Rusk was arrested and charged with a total of 11 felonies in March 2025 after police raided her home on Sheridan Street in Bethalto, the Bethalto Police Department said in a statement last year.

Blake M. Clemons, 36, also was arrested, and his case is pending. He is being held in the Madison County Jail.

The Bethalto Police Department began the investigation after receiving a tip that child pornography was being disseminated from a home on Sheridan Street. Officers from Bethalto and the Madison County Sheriff’s Office and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office executed a search warrant at the home where Rusk and Clemons were arrested.

Rusk was sentenced by Circuit Judge Amy Maher.

Jessica J. Koester, an Edwardsville attorney representing Rusk, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

“This defendant should have been protecting this child, but instead became a source of unimaginable harm,” Haine said in a statement Tuesday. “She not only committed abuse herself, but allowed it to continue. No sentence can ever capture the terrible nature of these crimes, but today’s sentence reflects the gravity of that betrayal and ensures she will be held accountable for decades to come.”

The case was prosecuted by First Assistant State’s Attorney Ali Foley and Assistant State’s Attorney Sarah Voudrie.

This story was originally published April 1, 2026 at 2:58 PM.