A Quincy woman who was arrested on Wednesday by the Illinois Crimes Against Children Task force has been denied pretrial release in Adams County.
22-year old Blake S. Wakefield appeared before Judge Josh Jones this morning for a pretrial detention hearing.
Wakefield has been charged with Class X felony, predatory criminal sexual assault and two Class X felonies for possession and distribution of child pornography. She faces anywhere from 6-60 years in prison if found guilty of the charges.
Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s investigators with ICAC, along with officers from the Quincy Police Department, conducted a search of Wakefield’s residence in the 400 block of Valley View Road in Quincy on Wednesday and she was taken into custody without incident.
WGEM reports that dams County Assistant State’s Attorney Laura Keck argued that no pretrial release conditions could protect the community from Wakefield’s potential behavior. Keck said Wakefield took multiple videos of a child that was between 2 and 4-years-old and then distributed them online. She said the child is non-verbal and has a mental disability. Keck said law enforcement received cyber tips this summer, otherwise the situation might have gone unnoticed. Keck reported that law enforcement was able to identify Wakefield as the suspect through still images of a hand wearing specific rings along with usernames linked to Wakefield online.
Public defender John Citro argued that Wakefield had just recently turned 22 and was in line for employment. He asked Jones to grant Wakefield pretrial release, on the terms of no contact with the alleged victim or the family, or have internet access. Citro also requested a mental health assessment be conducted.
Judge Josh Jones called the images and videos “disturbing” and “heinous.” An emergency order of protection for the victim and the victim’s family was granted.
Wakefield is currently held at the Adams County Jail.
Wakefield will return to court for a preliminary hearing on October 21st.