A Pittsfield man arrested while still a teenager for charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and predatory criminal sexual assault has been found fit to stand trial.
Now-20-year old Dylan C. Guthrie of Pittsfield was arrested after an investigation by the Pike County Sheriff’s Office, DCFS, and the Children’s Advocacy Network into a sexual assault in rural Pittsfield that is alleged to have occurred in April 2022. Guthrie was arrested the following month by Pike County Sheriff’s Deputies.
Guthrie is facing three counts of predatory criminal sexual assault involving someone under age 13 — all Class X felonies — and one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of someone under age 18 that is a family member.
The case has gone through multiple pretrial motions, including a motion for a 402 Conference by Guthrie’s previous attorney John Leonard. Leonard withdrew counsel in June of last year and a public defender was appointed. The following month a special prosecutor was assigned to the case. The defense counsel was also granted leave to hire a DNA expert in the case.
This past December, Guthrie was again granted leave to hire private counsel and scuttled the public defender. Attorney Michael Hankins was hired and a mental fitness evaluation was ordered for Guthrie in March. Dr. Joshua Camins returned a report on Guthrie’s mental fitness to the court on June 4th and determined that Guthrie is fit to stand trial.
If convicted of any of the charges, Guthrie faces between 6-30 years in prison without the option of probation.
A status hearing on the case has been set for September 5th.