A 61-year-old Centralia man has been sentenced to seven years in prison on five counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
Judge Allan Lolie handed down the sentence in Marion County Court on Tuesday to Dennis Tate of West Sixth Street. The judge had earlier found Tate guilty of all five counts in a bench trial.
The sentence included seven years on each of the five charges, with the time to be served concurrently. Tate will also have to complete two years of parole and was given credit for 424 days served in the Marion County Jail awaiting completion of the case.
Tate was arrested in September of last year on charges that involve incidents that occurred between 1994 and 2002. One of the victims was under 13 and the other was over 13 at the time.
State’s Attorney Bill Milner noted when filing the charges that they were made possible by a change in state law that allows an underage person up to 20 years after they turn 18 to seek charges.
Tate still faces two other aggravated criminal sexual abuse charges that involve another family member more recently.
