Mendota funeral director gets 3 years in prison for sexual abuse charges

A Mendota funeral director was sentenced Friday to three years in prison for having a prolonged sexual relationship with a teen.

Brett W. Merritt, 55, had pleaded guilty in May to three felonies in La Salle County Circuit Court. A six-year relationship with a teen resulted in two convictions for aggravated criminal sexual abuse and for possessing sexual abuse images.

Eligible for probation, and hoping to avoid a prison sentence up to seven years, Merritt appeared in court Friday to ask for probation, saying that he had cooperated fully with voluntary sex offender treatment.

“I know what I did was wrong,” Merritt said, extending apologies to the victim, their family and the community at large. “It was 100% my fault. I accept that.”

Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. acknowledged Merritt’s guilty plea, remorse and the voluntary treatment – “which is really rare around this place” – but ultimately decided probation would deprecate the seriousness of the offense.

Merritt was charged in July 2023 after Mendota police concluded a lengthy investigation and announced the seizure of multiple digital images created during the relationship.

On Friday, Mendota defense attorney David Kaleel asked for probation plus county jail time. Kaleel said Merritt has a negligible criminal history plus health issues that would make incarceration unduly burdensome. Merritt also participated fully in treatment, earning high marks from the treatment adviser.

“I think Mr. Merritt would do well with probation and treatment,” Kaleel said.

Kaleel also said prison could have a catastrophic effect on the funeral home, where the only other licensed funeral director is Merritt’s father, who is almost 82 and incapable of meeting the physical demands of the job.

The La Salle County State’s Attorney’s Office asked Ryan to hand down a six-year sentence. Prosecutor Greg Sticka acknowledged that Merritt had no significant criminal history but said prison was warranted based on several aggravating factors.

According to a statement, the victim reported that the illicit relationship has had lasting effects – “He took everything that I loved about myself away and much more” – and damaged her ability to enter a normal relationship.

Sticka also reminded the judge that Merritt met the victim in a professional setting. Merritt may have a good professional reputation, Sticka acknowledged, but “he utilized that position to afford him an ‘in’ – an easier means to commit this offense.”

“There’s a very distinctive power-and-control component to this,” Sticka said. “A predatory component.”

Ryan rejected the state’s call for six years. The judge said he was troubled that Merritt held on to the sexual images of the teen.

“I’m going back and forth on this one,” the judge said, “and I can’t do probation – I just can’t do it. Anybody who’s 49 years old knows that 14-year-olds don’t make good decisions.”

Ryan granted Merritt a short stay of sentence, giving him a week to settle business affairs before he reports to prison.

Merritt might not be in prison long. He accrued almost 10 months of credit for time served thanks to pretrial release with an ankle bracelet and is eligible for day-for-day good time. His release is likely in early 2025.