A 28-year-old Mt. Vernon man has been sentenced to a total of 75 years in prison after earlier being found guilty by a Jefferson County Jury for predatory criminal sexual assault with a victim under 13 and two counts of child pornography.
The three Class X felony charges were among nine indictments brought against Cody Rector. He was found NOT guilty by the jury on five other counts of child pornography and a second count of predatory criminal sexual assault.
Judge Jerry Crisel handed down a 40-year sentence on the predatory criminal sexual assault charge of which at least 85 percent have to be served. He receive 20 and 15-year sentences on the two child pornography charges which require at least 50 percent of the sentence to be served.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department Detective Division led the investigation that included the execution of a search warrant at Rector’s home on Old Union Road in April of 2020. Rector was arrested at that time on child pornography charges but additional counts of distribution of child pornography and predatory criminal sexual assault were added later.
Assistant Jefferson County State’s Attorney Julie Koscuzek who handled the case thanked Bobby Wallace of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department for his tireless dedication to investigating crimes against society’s most vulnerable population, our children. She says her heart breaks for the trauma done to this little girl and her family. Hopefully, the sentence given out Thursday serves as a strong deterrence to others who would commit such unspeakable acts.
