Bond set at $500K for DeKalb man charged with sexually assaulting child

SYCAMORE – A judge set bond for a DeKalb man charged with sexually assaulting a child for whom his brother baby-sat.

Bond for Robert Childress, 22, of the 800 block of Crane Drive, DeKalb, was set at $500,000 Wednesday. He must post $50,000 bail to be released from the DeKalb County jail, where he remained Wednesday evening.

Childress was appointed a public defender and indicated he wouldn’t be able to post bail.

If he should be released, however, DeKalb County Judge Bradley Waller ordered Childress to have no contact with the child.

Predatory criminal sexual assault of a child is typically punishable by six to 30 years in prison. Childress, who is charged with four counts of the crime, would be subject to consecutive sentencing – meaning he would serve individual sentences for each count, Assistant State’s Attorney David Weichel said in court Wednesday.

DeKalb police received a report Saturday that a child younger than 12 had been sexually assaulted. Childress was arrested after forensic interviewers spoke with the child Tuesday.

The abuse is believed to have happened regularly over the past four months, court records show.

DeKalb County Public Defender Tom McCulloch argued Childress could be safely released from jail, since he had arrangements to stay with family in Chicago, and would be expected to report to the the court’s pretrial services department.

Because of the nature of the charges however, Waller said he was “very concerned about the allegations” and upheld Weichel’s recommendation of a $500,000 bond.

Childress is scheduled to appear before a judge again Feb. 19.

There are no other known victims, police said in a news release.