A Murrayville man arrested more than 3 years ago for allegedly sexually assaulting a family member for alleged incidents that happened more than 5 years ago has pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
48-year old Casey J. Kline pleaded guilty to the Class 1 felony criminal sexual assault of a family member under the age of 18. Kline’s case was set to start a bench trial on Wednesday in Morgan County Circuit Court.
Kline was arrested by Morgan County Sheriff’s Deputies and formally charged in July 2021 on felony charges of criminal sexual assault and two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child. The first predatory sexual assault charge dates back to July 2017 and the second to November 2019, while the criminal sexual assault charge involved an incident reported on July 12, 2021 – just a week prior to Kline’s arrest.
Multiple motions, including the hiring of a private investigator were undertaken in the case. After a lengthy evidence discovery process and change over in the Morgan County Public Defender’s Office, the case was expected to go to trial on Wednesday.
Kline pleaded guilty yesterday before Morgan County Circuit Judge Chris Reif and was issued a sentence of 14 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, 1 year of mandatory supervised release, and fined $500. Kline must serve at least 50% of the sentence, according to Illinois’ truth-in-sentencing laws. Kline was given credit for 1,196 days served in the Morgan County Jail.