EFFINGHAM CO., Ill.—While in Effingham yesterday, Disclosure staff learned that a man who has been accused of prolific sexual assault on children has been set for a plea in his case instead of a trial.
James D. Zumbahlen
James D. Zumbahlen, 51, of Effingham, was charged last year with 22 counts of sexual assault of a number of children over the past two decades, the oldest dating back to 1996. There were allegedly ten victims in all, some of them family members, ranging from very young girls to 17-year-old boys, all of them either Class X or Class 1 felonies, according to court officials yesterday. He’s been held in jail unable to make the million dollar bond since his arrest in March after a grand jury indictment.
The case was set for a hearing yesterday (Friday, April 25, 2014), at which time it was anticipated that Zumbahlen would enter a plea. He did not, but instead set the matter for a plea hearing on May 5, the date which had previously been set for a jury trial.
State’s Attorney Bryan Kibler told Disclosure staff yesterday that the state was prepared to go to trial on the matter; however, now it appears that won’t be necessary. The prosecution was going to be handled by special prosecutor David Rands from the appellate prosecutor’s special prosecution unit anyway, so it’s probably for the best that the plea is going to be entered as opposed to the case going to a jury with Rands at the lead of it.
Updates as we get them; be checking back.