A Crystal Lake man has been sentenced to 32 years in prison for sexually assaulting a child and filming it nearly a dozen times, court documents show.
Courtney T. Stephens, 41, of the 800 block of Eletson Drive in Crystal Lake, was charged with 11 counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault and 14 counts of producing child pornography.
A 25-count criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court said that Stephens possessed a video in December 2019 of a girl under the age of 13 who was undressed and in a lewd manner.
Stephens also allegedly possessed a video of a girl under the age of 13 and a boy, approximately 5 years old, who were engaged in “several sex acts,” the complaint said.
On April 2, 2020, Stephens sexually assaulted a female juvenile, who is a family member of his, the complaint said. He filmed the assault and saved it on an electronic device.
The criminal complaint said that Stephens sexually assaulted the girl and filmed it on ten additional occasions throughout 2020.
The Crystal Lake Police Department arrested Stephens in December 2020 after an arrest warrant had been issued for him.
Stephens has been held in the McHenry County Jail on a $575,000 bond since his arrest.
On Thursday, Stephens pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, a Class X felony, in exchange for all of his other charges being dismissed.
McHenry County Judge Michael Coppedge approved the plea deal and sentenced Stephens to 16 years in prison for each of the two counts.
Under truth-in-sentencing guidelines, Stephens must serve 85% of his sentence. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender for life.