Continuance granted for Oregon man accused of possessing images of sexual abuse of children

OREGON – An status hearing for an Oregon man charged with possessing images of child sexual abuse was continued Thursday as officials wait for the results of a court-ordered evaluation.

Kris D. Stubblefield, 32, is charged with possessing videos of children engaged in sex acts. Charging documents say all the children were younger than 13 and some were as young as 3. Documents indicate the offenses occurred in August and October.

Stubblefield was arrested Oct. 21 by Ogle County sheriff’s deputies after a monthslong investigation and search of his home, prompted by a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

He has pleaded not guilty to all eight charges and appeared in court on Thursday, Jan. 11, before Judge John “Ben” Roe with his attorney, public defender Michael O’Brien, and Ogle county Assistant State’s Attorney Heather Kruse.

O’Brien told the court he was waiting on the results of a second meeting Stubblefield had with the evaluator and asked the hearing be continued.

“The second meeting by the evaluator was done this morning,” O’Brien said. “We are asking for a Jan. 22 date.”

Kruse did not object to the continuance. Roe set the next status hearing for 1:30 p.m. Jan. 22.

Stubblefield has been held in the Ogle County Correctional Center since his arrest, but has requested numerous times to be released from custody as his case proceeds through the court system.

In December, Roe ordered an evaluation of Stubblefield and denied his request to be released from jail in order to serve as a caregiver for his ailing grandfather.

O’Brien said Stubblefield’s incarceration was a hardship on his family since he would be providing caregiving services to his grandfather if he were released.

Kruse argued to keep Stubblefield in custody, citing reports from the Illinois attorney general and the sheriff’s office that he is a registered juvenile sex offender and was in possession of more than 1,500 images on his phone of children engaged in sex acts with adults and some with other children. She said his conviction as a juvenile was for aggravated criminal sexual assault of a child younger than 9 years of age.

Roe said Stubblefield is charged with “criminal acts involving the internet,” which would be difficult to restrict or monitor if he were to be released.

On Thursday, Roe again denied Stubblefield’s motion to be released. That decision marked the fifth time a judge has rejected his request.

Stubblefield also filed an appeal of an Oct. 24 decision by Judge Clayton Lindsey after one of his first court appearances on the charges. That appeal was denied Dec. 15 by the Appellate Court of the 4th District.

Stubblefield’s attorneys have argued for his release, citing his cooperation with law enforcement, adding that he had not tried to elude law enforcement in any way and has no history of violence.

Stubblefield’s appeal was filed under the Pretrial Fairness Act. It argued he should be released because the state did not meet its burden of proving any real threat existed to people or the community if Stubblefield were to be released.

The appeal followed passage of the controversial SAFE-T Act, which was upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court and allows defendants to be released on no-cash bond. Under the new law, judges still decide whether a defendant is a flight risk or poses too much of a threat to one person or the community to allow release.