Man gets jail term in sex abuse case
By JILLIAN DUCHNOWSKI - jduchnowski@nwherald.com
WOODSTOCK – A 47-year-old Wonder Lake man was sentenced to six months in jail and two years of probation Monday for having sexual contact in August 2001 with a young girl.
Bruce Wallen entered a stipulated plea to aggravated criminal sexual abuse May 4 for making a girl between the ages of 8 and 10 perform a sex act on him. That means that Wallen pleaded not guilty but agreed that prosecutors would be able to prove the charge at trial.
Prosecutor Ryan Blackney asked Judge Sharon Prather to sentence Wallen to five years in prison or, if she decided on probation, to 180 days in jail.
He argued that Wallen persisted in denying that the incident happened, while the victim suffered from mood swings and depression.
“Clearly, from the victim impact statement, her innocence is gone, while the defendant’s selfishness remains,” Blackney said.
But defense attorney Bill Bligh described the incident as “an anomaly” that was unlikely to happen again.
Bligh said the jail sentence would jeopardize Wallen’s disability benefits and a prison term would worsen his medical conditions.
Wallen was diagnosed with bipolar disorder shortly after a heart attack in 2005 and since has had three back surgeries, Bligh said.
Wallen, who dated the victim’s mother, could have been sentenced to probation or to between three and seven years in prison.
