Rock Falls sex offender accused of battery of a 6-year-old

ROCK FALLS – A 31-year-old registered sex offender from rural Rock Falls is in Whiteside County jail, accused of beating and bruising a 6-year-old boy.

Cody T. Lopeman was arrested Friday and charged Monday with aggravated battery of a child, punishable by two to five years in prison, and misdemeanor battery.

He appeared in court Monday afternoon, where he was ordered to remain jailed while the case proceeds.

The boy was hit hard enough Friday that his buttocks were bruised, according to the charging document.

The Sheriff’s Department responded Friday and called the Department of Children and Family Services, and after an investigation, Lopeman was arrested and charged.

He has a preliminary hearing Feb. 12.

According to the Illinois State Police Sex Offender Registry, Lopeman also is known as Cody J. or Carly T. Lopeman, or Cody C. Ross.

When he was 18, Lopeman was convicted in Whiteside County of criminal sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl, a misdemeanor. He was sentenced to two years probation.

He was sentenced May 24, 2022, to four years probation for burglary, and on July 8 of that year to one year of conditional discharge for failure to register as a sex offender.