The Macon County case of a New Berlin man accused of illegal possession of child pornography might not go to trial.
57 year old Scott A. Gentry was arrested on January 24th after a co-worker reportedly witnessed Gentry viewing a photo of a naked young girl on his phone during work at a bank in Argenta. Law enforcement officers found more than 3,000 photos and videos of children as young as 3 years old and as old as teenagers involved in sexual acts stored on his device.
Scott Gentry has officially been charged with ten counts of illegal possession of child pornography depicting a victim or victims under the age of 13. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing and pleaded not guilty last month.
Gentry appeared in Macon County court yesterday for a scheduled pre-trial conference. The case was continued, and Gentry will next appear in Macon County court tomorrow. The case was set for a 402 conference, which courts in Illinois use to hold a specific pre-trial session. A “402 conference” is a reference to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 402, which dictates the process of this specific pre-trial conference.
In a 402 conference, the presiding judge will hear information about the defendant pertaining to the case, some of which may not be admissible in court if the case goes to trial. The 402 conference serves as a clear way for the prosecution to declare everything they know about the defendant, for the presiding judge to outline their thoughts on the case and recommend sentencing, and for the defense to approve or deny any recommendations.
The 402 pre-trial conference will be held tomorrow afternoon at 2 pm in Macon County courtroom 6A.
Representing the prosecution on Monday was Macon County Assistant State’s Attorney Jacqueline Hollis-George. Gentry is being represented in defense by Attorney Chris Amero.