A Jacksonville man will spend time in the Illinois Department of Corrections for grooming an underage family member through text messages sent in 2017.
42 year old Joshua J. Bruns of the 200 block of South Sandy was sentenced in Morgan County Court today after pleading guilty to indecent solicitation of a child. Assistant State’s Attorney Chad Turner explains the sentence today: “Judge [Reif] sentenced Mr. Bruns to 3 years in the Department of Corrections, after which he does a year on parole as well as being sentenced to fines, fees and court costs for a felony of that nature. He was charged with indecent solicitation of a child, which is what people commonly refer to as ‘grooming,’ but it can be anything. In this case, the actual charges stem from text messages between him and a minor child who was a household member of Mr. Bruns’ at the time.”
Five other charges in the incident were dropped per the plea from Bruns in court. Turner explains further: “There was only one other charge, and it was dismissed pursuant to his plea. He was only charged with one other count and it was all based from the same set of circumstances and the same incidents. The charges were all stemming from the same girl. All the other ones were dismissed not today in court but when he entered his plea of guilty in this case.”
Bruns was arrested in March 2017 and is accused of fondling the breasts of a family member under the age of 18 and soliciting the victim to touch him sexually through text messages. Bruns went through a saga of attorneys in late 2017 eventually leading to the plea last month in Morgan County Court.
42 year old Tina M Brown was also arrested in the original incident in March 2017. Brown plead guilty to a class 1 Felony of allowing sexual abuse of a child in April 2018. She was given 84 days in county jail with credit for 42 days served, 2 years probation, and a $500 fine. Bruns will begin serving out his term immediately.