An elderly Montgomery man, charged with sexually assaulting five minors, will have a jury trial Jan. 14 before Kane County Circuit Judge John Barsanti.

Michael G. Farris, 85, was accused of committing sexual assault and having sexual contact with five victims between the ages of 13 and 17 from Jan. 20, 2008, and July 30, 2022, according to court records and a joint news release from the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office and Montgomery police.

A grand jury indicted him last year on 106 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and 23 counts of criminal sexual assault of five minors between the ages of 13 and 17 from 2008 to 2022, court records show.

Barsanti also set Aug. 13 as an appearance date before the trial.

Farris is free on pretrial release. He’s on electronic home monitoring with restrictions, prohibited from accessing the internet and contacting anyone under age 18. Farris must also check with probation before leaving home for doctor appointments, documents show.

Prosecutors were unsuccessful in trying to have Farris held in jail instead of on electronic home monitoring, asserting that he was a danger to minors, even in his frail physical state.

Barsanti ruled to allow him to remain on electronic monitoring, finding that the state did not meet its burden of proof that Farris posed a real and present danger to the community, records show.

Prosecutors also were unsuccessful in appealing that decision, as the Second District Appellate Court in Elgin ruled 2-1 in October 2025 to allow Farris to continue pretrial release while on home monitoring.