KENNET, MO. - The case of convicted sex offender, Michael Dean, 58, of Kampsville, Illinois has been dismissed in a Missouri county due to a plea Dean entered in McLean County, Illinois.
Dean was charged with three counts of forced sodomy and three counts of kidnapping in Dunklin County, Missouri. These charges were brought last fall from allegations of three men Dean took to Kennett, which is located in the "Bootheel" region of Missouri, to select produce to sell at his family's stand in Kampsville. Three men said they were raped by Dean during these trips.
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The men said they were told by Dean they would return later that evening, but said they were forced to stay in a motel with Dean after the truck allegedly broke down, according to an affidavit from former Dunklin County Prosecuting Attorney Stephen Sokoloff. The men said Dean took them out drinking until they blacked out and awoke the next morning with strange pains for which they could not account. In one case, Dean allegedly told a man he had slept with a 60-year-old woman and then proceeded to make fun of him for it.
A camera discovered by the Normal Police Department in McClean County, Illinois, contained images of men naked, unconscious and, in some images, tied to a bed, according to that affidavit. That camera was discovered after a man allegedly staying with Dean in a motel called a relative for help. That relative called police, who arrived at the motel. Police discovered controlled substances and that camera in Dean's possession during a search of the room.
According to the affidavit, the three men saw images of themselves on the camera found in Dean's possession in Normal while interviewing with the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office. All three were visibly shocked and horrified.
Dean pleaded guilty to one count of attempted criminal sexual abuse, a Class A felony, and one count of manufacture or delivery of a schedule III controlled substance, a Class 2 felony, in McLean County. These convictions come with two consecutive sentences of 24 months and 30 months of felony probation. Dean will also spend 10 years as a registered sex offender. Calhoun County State's Attorney Richard Ringhausen said felony probation was not surprising for him.
"One of the legal issues up there involved the proximity of a school, which would have come with a mandatory sentencing," Ringhausen said. "Because the law has to do with the measurements between buildings and not property lines, it was able to be dropped to a probational offense. The State of Illinois recommends probation for first time felonies, so it was not surprising."
Ringhausen did not know Dean's case had been dismissed in Dunklin County. A representative of the Dunklin County Prosecuting Attorney's Office said the case had been dismissed due to a plea entered in Illinois.
Charges also await Dean in Calhoun County. Dean has been charged with attempted aggravated criminal sexual abuse due to an incident which allegedly occurred three years ago, Ringhausen said. Dean has filed to block evidence from like cases from being used in that case, which relates to his drug conviction in McLean County.
Illinois law does not allow evidence from a different case to be used, except in certain circumstances, Ringhausen said. Those circumstances include to show motive or opportunity. Ringhausen said evidence from the McLean County conviction may be used to back the alleged victim's assertion Dean drugged him with Seroquel before committing the alleged attempted sexual abuse. Dean filed a motion to block that evidence from being used.
If the evidence cannot be used, Ringhausen said the charges may drop to a Class A misdemeanor. Currently, the state is trying to build a case around alleged delivery by deception of a controlled substance, which would make the charge a felony. However, since the alleged event occurred three years ago, proof by blood test would be impossible.
"If that element cannot be proven, there is no way we can charge this as a felony," Ringhausen said. "The victim in this case identified the drug given, which is not a controlled substance."
Seroquel, or Quetiapine, is an anti-psychotic used to treat bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The victim alleges Dean drugged him with Seroquel without his knowledge prior to the alleged criminal sexual abuse.
Dean was also arrested in Du Quoin, Illinois, which is located in Perry County. Dean was charged with violating the conditions of his bail, which did not allow him to enter any establishment whose main source of revenue was alcohol. Several bar owners and workers in Du Quoin confirmed Dean had been a patron at their establishments.
He was arrested at a Christmas lights festival around 7:45 p.m. on Dec. 18, 2015, after a warrant for his arrest was issued by the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office. That warrant was served by the Du Quoin Police Department as well as the Perry County Sheriff's Office. Dean was later released after paying 10 percent of an $80,000 bond.
A representative of the Du Quoin City Clerk's Office said Dean is currently living south of Du Quoin and selling iron roosters and produce by the side of the road.
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