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A Break Down Of The Illinois Custodial Sexual Misconduct Statute With Michael Wepsiec

Release Date: 11/12/2019

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Episode 698 (Duration 29:54). Attorney Michael Wepsiec of Murphosboro, Illinois deconstructs the custodial sexual misconduct criminal law statute.

In This Episode...

"'Hey I'm on parole, date me.' No body says that." -- Michael Wepsiec

Attorney Michael Wepsiec

Attorney Michael Wepsiec has over 34 years of legal experience.

He is the former elected States's Attorney of Jackson County Illinois. Before that he has the Carbondale city attorney, and before that he was an assistant state's attorney in Jackson County.

Contact Information

The Wepsiec Law Office
1502 Walnut St
Murphysboro, IL 62966
(618) 565-5206

The Illinois Custodial Sexual Misconduct Statute

In Illinois custodial sexual misconduct is found under 720 ILCS 5/11-9.2. The section provides that...

(a) A person commits custodial sexual misconduct when:
(1) he or she is an employee of a penal system and engages in sexual conduct or sexual penetration with a person who is in the custody of that penal system;
(2) he or she is an employee of a treatment and detention facility and engages in sexual conduct or sexual penetration with a person who is in the custody of that treatment and detention facility; or
(3) he or she is an employee of a law enforcement agency and engages in sexual conduct or sexual penetration with a person who is in the custody of a law enforcement agency or employee.

(b) A probation or supervising officer, surveillance agent, or aftercare specialist commits custodial sexual misconduct when the probation or supervising officer, surveillance agent, or aftercare specialist engages in sexual conduct or sexual penetration with a probationer, parolee, or releasee or person serving a term of conditional release who is under the supervisory, disciplinary, or custodial authority of the officer or agent or employee so engaging in the sexual conduct or sexual penetration.

"Can't Miss" Moments:

✓ The Illinois statute on custodial sexual misconduct came into effect in 1997. Before that the regular sexual assault and official misconduct charges weren't doing the job. Here's why...(Go to 5:14)

✓ Prisons and correctional facilities are big business down in southern Illinois. Where there are prisons there will be custodial sexual misconduct. (Go to 6:35)

✓ Really hard to imagine how this law could be stretched into unintended conduct, I mean the law is really clear on what it is trying to prevent. Nonetheless, Wepsiec found a set up facts that leave you wondering if the law was meant to go there. (Go to 7:20)

✓ The one thing a guy is going to keep off his online dating profile. For some people it leads to disappointment and a dud date. For others it can lead to a criminal charge. (Go to 8:20) & (Go to 11:07)

✓ How a workman's comp claim can lead to criminal charges, and I don't mean fraud charges. In this case, a workman's comp claim lead to a charge of custodial sexual misconduct. (Go to 9:05)

✓ A parolee parked outside your residence on a Saturday morning just might get you charged with a crime. Push play to find out how. (Go to 9:55)

✓ The secret to getting a parolee to say anything you want to hear. (Hint: this only works if you're a parole agent.) (Go to 10:03)

✓ Did you know legally speaking that a person who is on parole also called mandatory supervised release is in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections? (Go to 11:43)

✓ "A person commits custodial sexual misconduct when he or she is an employee of a penal system and engages in sexual conduct or sexual penetration with a person who is in the custody of THAT penal system". Clearly, the law is written to prevent guards who are directly in authority over inmates in the guard's facility. (Go to 12:08)

✓ Heaven forbid you ever have to dig into the legislative history of a bill. When Wepsiec did it Barack Obama's name turned up. (Go to 13:26)

✓ The one key distinction between the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice and the Illinois Department of Corrections made all the difference in the world to one downstate resident. Everything turned on the phrase "that penal system." (Go to 15:05)

✓ Here's a clear example of when we wouldn't want to charge a Jackson County Jail guard with custodial sexual misconduct, this ain't exactly "Orange is the New Black". (Go to 18:19)

✓ Does anyone object to charging politicians under this provision in the code? (Go to 19:35)

✓ "You know, I see some stuff now, and I'm going 'why in the heck did they file that?'." (Go to 20:47)

✓ The four rules to following a case. This was the standard Michael tried to live by when he was on the other side. When he was brining charges as a prosecutor he always tried to honor these principles. It's the last prong were prosecutors really distinguish themselves. (Go to 21:03)

✓ Here's a clear example of conduct the statute was intended to prevent. (CAUTION: these words are harsh, but they're not Michaels.) (Go to 23:35)

In This Episode...

Attorney Michael Wepsiec

Contact Information

The Illinois Custodial Sexual Misconduct Statute

"Can't Miss" Moments:

Links & Resources

See Also

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