EFFINGHAM CO., Ill.—In a case that has literally had the world watching, the mother of Willow Long has entered a plea of guilty today to her single charge of Obstructing a Peace Officer.
Ciara DeRyke
Ciara DeRyke, 26, was charged with lying to authorities about having seen her daughter on the morning of September 8, 2013, and that the little 7-year-old was alive and well and having breakfast/watching movies…when in fact, the girl was considered “missing” at the time, and was later discovered to have been murdered. Her uncle, Justin DeRyke (Ciara’s brother) is still set to stand trial in Willow’s murder.
With the guilty plea, Ciara was sentenced to 18 months probation, which included 120 days in jail. However, because of day-for-day good time and the fact that she’s already been housed there for 51 days, this schedules her for release a week from Thursday (February 6). There are also fines and fees incurred; we’re working on getting that exact amount.
Despite all the blustering by her father, Dale DeRyke, both his children have been represented by public defenders, who are keen to negotiate plea deals to get their clients off the docket and into pay-or-appear…or to DOC.
Justin DeRyke is still set for jury trial Feb. 10…but as it gets closer to time, we’ll see if it’s not continued again…or ends, like his sister’s charge, in a plea.