SYCAMORE – A man was sentenced to prison this week after he pleaded guilty to arson and sexual assault in two separate cases, according to court records.
Travis J. Council, 33, who listed a Palatine address in DeKalb County court records, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one felony count of arson. Police said he intentionally set fires multiple times inside Suburban Apartments units in DeKalb throughout March 2024.
He also pleaded guilty to one count of criminal sexual abuse of a minor, also a felony, connected to a Feb. 14, 2024, assault, records show. Months after he was charged with arson, police said he also sexually assaulted a minor multiple times on Feb. 14, 2024, inside the same DeKalb apartments. He was charged in connection to the assault May 23, 2024.
In return for the guilty pleas, Circuit Court Judge Philip Montgomery sentenced Council to six years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for each plea, according to DeKalb County court records. Prosecutor Neil Michling of the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office said Friday the sentences will be served at the same time.
Council faced a maximum sentence of seven years on both charges, Class 2 felonies, Michling said.
Council is required to serve at least 50% of his sentence. He’ll get credit for the 446 days he has spent so far in DeKalb County Jail in Sycamore, where he has been held without release since his May 24, 2024, arrest.
Council was represented by public defender William Gibbs, court records show.
The plea was part of an agreement reached between Council and the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office.
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