'Exemplary' dad guility of child sex abuse (Joliet, Illinois)

Dad COY RUSSELL, JR--once named an "exemplary father" by a local newspaper back in 2007--has been found guilty of three felony counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child.

Hat tip to Denom Shi for finding this.

http://www.suburbanchicagonews. com/bolingbrooks un/news/1931817, Bolingbrook- dad-sex-abuse_ na121009. article

‘Exemplary’ dad guilty of child sex abuse

December 10, 2009
By BILL BIRD

JOLIET — A man once saluted as an outstanding father faces up to 90 years in prison for the repeated sexual molestation of a pre-teenage member of his family.

A Will County Circuit Court jury found Coy Russell Jr. guilty of three felony counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, said Charles Pelkie, spokesman for State’s Attorney James Glasgow.

Russell, 40, last lived at 107 Somerset Lane in Bolingbrook. He was convicted Wednesday following a trial before Judge Carla Alessio-Policandrio tes.

A grand jury in October 2007 indicted Russell on the assault charges. He was accused of attacking the victim, a preteen girl, on three occasions between May 1 and Aug. 23 of that year.
Pelkie, in a written statement, said the girl testified she had been assaulted by Russell “on even more occasions.” He did not say when or how many other times the girl had been abused.

Glasgow said the victim was assaulted “by a brazen degenerate in an upstairs bedroom while other children were in the house or just outside.” He said the girl’s “courageous and detailed testimony of the abuse she suffered at the hands of this monster” enabled authorities and jurors to convict Russell.

Toni Greathouse, a longtime columnist for the Bolingbrook Sun, named Russell an “exemplary father” in an article published in the Fathers Day 2007 edition of the newspaper. Greathouse recognized Russell for the amount of time he spent at community athletic events with one of his stepchildren.

Predatory criminal sexual assault of a child is a Class X felony carrying a mandatory prison sentence upon conviction.

Russell remains in custody in Will County Jail. He is scheduled to return to court on Feb. 15, according to the jail's Web site.