Ex-La Salle County deputy to be detained before trial

A former La Salle County sheriff’s deputy charged with possession of child pornography will be detained ahead of trial, a judge ruled Thursday.

Dexter C. Baker, 28, of Ottawa, also listed in DePue, made his first appearance in La Salle County Circuit Court and asked for pretrial release while awaiting trial on 10 counts of child pornography. His request was denied, which entitles him to a trial within 90 days.

Baker’s lawyer, Michelle McClellan, entered a plea of innocent, and La Salle County Circuit Judge Michelle A. Vescogni scheduled a jury trial for Sept. 29. Baker will next appear in court Sept. 19.

Baker was indicted Tuesday by a La Salle County grand jury on eight counts of possessing child pornography, each Class X felonies carrying a prison sentence of six to 30 years with no possibility of probation, plus a pair of Class 2 counts carrying three to seven years.

If convicted, Baker would be required to serve his prison terms back to back for an aggregate sentence of more than 200 years.

Katherine Hegarty, an assistant attorney general, urged the court to deny Baker pretrial release.

According to her pleading, Baker procured “uploads which occurred at the [Ottawa] YMCA and the La Salle County government complex,” and he shared “multiple video files.”

In response, McClellan argued that Baker has no criminal history, has a previously distinguished record of community service, and had voluntarily entered unspecified treatment for his personal issues.

But the judge decided against pretrial release. Among the deciding factors, she ruled, was that at least one of the criminal offenses was alleged to have occurred after police had executed a search warrant of his residence. Baker, she ruled, is alleged to have acted illegally even when he knew he was under investigation.

“I don’t see how the defendant isn’t a real and present danger to the community,” Vescogni said.

According to a news release, the investigation was launched June 4 after a “cybertip” indicating that a social messaging app was reporting a user for child pornography. Search warrants were obtained, and the investigation led police to Baker, who was suspended at the outset of the investigation and later fired.

Even though he’s a former employee of La Salle County, Baker’s status created potential conflicts of interest for the county. He was remanded to the Bureau County Jail, rather than housed in Ottawa, and the state’s attorney’s office relinquished the case to the attorney general.