Judge denies Oregon’s man request for release, grants continuance as court-ordered evaluation nears completion

OREGON – An Ogle County judge again denied an Oregon’s man request to be released from custody to help an ailing family member as his case proceeds through the court system.

Kris D. Stubblefield, 32, charged with possessing videos of children engaged in sex acts, appeared before Judge John “Ben” Roe on Thursday for a status hearing.

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. Charging documents say all the children were younger than 13 and some were as young as 3, with the offenses occurring in August and October of 2023.

He has pleaded not guilty to all eight charges.

Ogle County Public Defender Michael O’Brien told Roe that the defense still was waiting for court-ordered evaluation to be completed on his client.

“We are still waiting for the results of that evaluation,” O’Brien said. “We think it may be done by March.”

O’Brien requested the next hearing be set for late February.

Assistant State’s Attorney Heather Kruse did not object to the continuance. Roe set the next status hearing for 1:30 p.m. Feb. 26.

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

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.

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

“His grandfather’s health has worsened, and the situation is made more difficult due to his incarceration,” O’Brien told Roe.

O’Brien has argued for his client’s release, citing his cooperation with law enforcement, adding that he did not tried to elude law enforcement and has no history of violence.

Kruse renewed the state’s argument 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 in a previous hearing, that Stubblefield’s conviction as a juvenile was for aggravated criminal sexual assault of a child younger than 9 years of age.

In previous denials of Stubblefield’s request for release, Roe said “criminal acts involving the internet” would be difficult to restrict or monitor if Stubblefield were to be released.

“The court will stand by its previous ruling,” Roe said, denying the motion to be released. That denial marked the sixth time a judge has rejected the request.

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

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 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.