Jury finds Hillcrest man not guilty of sexual abuse, assault charges

OREGON – An Ogle County jury took less than one hour Thursday to find a Hillcrest man not guilty of the sexual assault and abuse of a girl more than 10 years ago.

Jody Willis, 47, was charged with one count of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, a girl younger than 13 between 2006-08, and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in 2007-08 and 2013-14.

He was arrested in March 2021 after an August 2020 Ogle County Sheriff’s Department investigation and had been free on $250,000 bond since the arrest.

On Thursday morning, Willis, who was a Rochelle firefighter at the time of his arrest, testified, telling jurors he had “nothing to hide.” He said he willingly agreed to be interviewed by investigators in 2020.

In a 17-minute video of that interview, Willis denied all the accusations.

On Wednesday, the alleged assault victim, now an adult, testified that the allegations stemmed from an incident she said happened when she was in elementary school and alone with Willis at his Hillcrest home.

She described in detail a game she said Willis had her take part in that preceded the alleged sexual assault. The alleged victim said she was sexually abused by Willis when she was a teen. She said she didn’t tell her mother about any of the incidents until 2020.

In earlier testimony, jurors learned Willis had known the girl from a young age.

On Thursday, he said they did play a game, but he denied there was any sexual assault or sexual contact, and again strongly denied all the allegations.

In his closing argument, Russell Crull, who represented Willis along with Eric Arnquist, said the state failed to prove his client was guilty.

“Just because somebody said something happened does not make it true,” Crull said.

Assistant Ogle County State’s Attorney Heather Kruse told jurors to consider the alleged victim’s testimony as evidence.

“There were a complicated set of emotions. That doesn’t mean she was lying. She’s a human being,” Kruse said. “She came in here and told you what happened.”

Assistant State’s Attorney Matthew Leisten characterized the alleged victim as a “vulnerable girl” who was taken advantage of by someone she trusted. He said there was no DNA or other physical evidence in the case, but asked jurors to find Willis guilty.

But Crull said Willis always had vehemently denied the allegations. “He denied it every single time because he did not do this,” Crull said.

Jurors began deliberations at 3:50 p.m. and notified Judge John “Ben” Roe, who presided over the trial at the Ogle County Judicial Center, at 4:40 p.m. that they had reached their decision.

As the court clerk read the not guilty verdicts, members of Willis’ family who had been present throughout the trial, wept and hugged each other. Willis put his head in his hands and also wept.

The alleged victim and her family were not in the courtroom when the verdicts were read.

Crull issued a statement after the verdict: “We at Tess, Crull, and Arnquist [law firm] pride ourselves in representing people like Jody Willis in cases just like this. These cases are exceptionally difficult due to the media and social media they receive. We thank the jury for considering all the evidence and delivering a just verdict.

“Mr. Willis waited a long time for his day in court and his name has been exonerated,” Crull said.