SALINE CO.—The ongoing saga of an accused child molester has taken a new development this week.
It appears that James G. Roberts, who will be 70 tomorrow, has been sprung by his daughter. Bond was posted in the first case on Thursday, March 21, but apparently the second set of charges came down within a week and had their own bond…which was also posted, this last Thursday, March 28.
James G. Roberts
Roberts is the Eldorado man who was accused last month of sexual abuse against children. The investigation, being conducted by Illinois State Police, also turned up information that resulted in a second set of charges that included not only more alleged sexual abuse, but also distribution of sexually explicit material to a minor, likely the same alleged victim in that case.
Our sources indicate that Roberts’ daughter from Georgia, Tina, is the one who traveled here to Illinois (after ranting about the situation just a couple of weeks ago) and posted bond in the case, releasing Roberts from the Saline County Detention Center and returning him to his home in Eldorado…which, according to phone calls we’ve been receiving, is situated between a school and churches…where yesterday (Easter Sunday) a whole host of children were out and active. Further, sources who claim to be eyewitnesses told Disclosure that during activities for the day yesterday, Roberts was observed watching these.
But that’s not the most disturbing information Disclosure has received about the case.
Hubert “Skip” Davis
A couple of days after Roberts’ first arrest, we were advised by yet more eyewitnesses of a strange occurrence they saw in February. In an incident reminiscent of Skip Davis in Lawrenceville, they related the situation to us:
“He (Roberts) was at a gymnastics meet in Edwardsville, Ill., back in February with a camera with a big long lens which we thought was odd considering they allow no flash photography,” we were told. Our source advised that there was a family member involved who used to work with Roberts, which is how they knew who he was. This family member asked Roberts what he was doing there. “He said he was watching his grandchildren,” one of the sources said. “Knowing the circumstances it is scary since there was hundreds on children there from ages 5 to 18.”
Further to that, other Eldorado sources advised that Roberts has no blood relative grandchildren in the area; he’s been a kind of “adopted” grandfather to many in the area, which includes the first two alleged victims in the case.
Roberts is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in the two charges on April 15. Be watching for updates, and pick up the next print version of Disclosure (or be sure you’re signed up for the e-Edition so you can read the article right here on the convenience of your own computer) so you can read details on this ever-evolving case.