QUINCY, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois Supreme Court has declined to order a western Illinois judge to impose a sentence in a sexual assault case after he threw out the conviction at the sentencing hearing.
The court ruled Wednesday that “the double jeopardy clause prohibits further prosecution even where an acquittal is ‘based upon an egregiously erroneous foundation.’”
The Illinois Attorney General’s office filed motions with the court last month seeking to direct Adams County Judge Robert Adrian to vacate his order acquitting Drew S. Clinton and to sentence him.
Adrian found Clinton guilty on one count of criminal sexual assault after a three-day bench trial in October, but Adrian threw out the conviction at the Jan. 3 sentencing hearing.
Adams County State’s Attorney Gary Farha said in a statement “we are extremely disappointed in the recent decision of the Illinois Supreme Court regarding the Drew Clinton criminal case.”
“The decision of the trial judge and the comments he made at sentencing were incredibly insensitive and not supported by the evidence,” Farha said.
A spokesperson for Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul also expressed disappointment.
Clinton’s attorney Drew Schnack said the Supreme Court action means the case is effectively finished.
The case sparked wide outrage.
In January, Adrian was reassigned to small claims, legal matters and probate documents instead of presiding over the criminal docket.
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