Ex-Lake County prosecutor facing jail time, fine for buying underaged girl alcohol in 2020

Javaron Buckley

A former Lake County prosecutor was fined and sentenced to jail time on Wednesday for buying liquor for an underaged female he was with in a Woodstock motel in 2020.

Javaron D. Buckley, 34, of Mount Prospect, entered a guilty plea in July to Class A misdemeanor charges of giving or selling liquor to a minor and renting a hotel for a minor and authorizing/being responsible for alcohol being consumed by a minor, according to court documents in the McHenry County courthouse.

He also is required to pay a $500 fine and court fees of $1,264.20. Buckley was placed on one year of conditional discharge and sentenced to 30 days in the McHenry County jail, of which he is only required to serve half, according to the sentencing orders.

Buckley is ordered to report to the McHenry County jail and begin serving his sentence Aug. 19, according to court documents.

He also is ordered to have no contact with the female involved in the case or her family, according to the sentencing documents.

The charges could have sent the former Lake County assistant state’s attorney and defense attorney, to a maximum sentence of 364 days in jail and up to $10,000 in fines.

Should he violate the terms of his sentence, he risks being re-sentenced at the higher penalties.

Buckley is accused of buying 750 mg of Hennessy and Coca-Cola and giving it to a female who was younger than age 21 while at the Best Western Hotel in Woodstock, according to documents filed in the McHenry County courthouse.

On Jan. 17, Woodstock Police responded to a call for suspicious activity at the hotel located at 990 Lake Ave. During their investigation, police learned that Buckley sent an Uber to pick up an 18-year-old girl from her house and bring her to the McHenry County courthouse where he met her and drove her to a liquor store, according to a press release sent Thursday from the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Buckley, the release said, purchased liquor for the girl and then he took her to the Best Western where he had rented a room.

About an hour later, the girl was captured on surveillance video unable to walk, being led out of the hotel lobby by Buckley, according to the release.

In exchange for his negotiated plea of guilty, a Class A misdemeanor charge of battery/makes physical contact, was dismissed, according to court documents.

After leaving the Lake County State’s Attorney’s office, Buckley worked for the law offices of Donahue and Walsh in McHenry as a defense attorney, the law firm confirmed. He was not working with the firm at the time of the incident.

He currently is listed in good standing with the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission. Buckley currently practices law from an office in Waukegan, according to the ARDC.