Joseph L. Hughes
WHITE CO., Ill. - A man originally from Kentucky has been sentenced in his 2017 child sex assault case.
Joseph L. Hughes, 50, went through a stipulated bench trial yesterday (Tuesday, October 9) at a court date previously scheduled as a pre-trial conference day with his attorney, Alan Downen.
He was found guilty of the charge - officially, Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault of a Child, a Class X felony - and was sentenced following conviction: Nine years in Illinois Department of Corrections, with a parole period of three years to life, depending on IDOC. Because of the nature of the offense, which is alleged to have occurred in May of 2014, Hughes will be required to serve at least 85 percent of the sentence.
White County State's Attorney Denton Aud noted that Norris City police was the investigating agency in the matter.