A 27-year-old Salem man has been found guilty by Judge Mark Stedelin in a bench trial on four Class X felony charges of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child.
Devon Q. Gibbs faces between 24 and 240 years in prison when sentenced on August 23rd.
In addition to the eight-year-old female victim, Gibbs is also accused of sexually assaulting seven and ten-year-old girls. The judge had earlier granted a defense motion to hold separate trials for each victim. State’s Attorney Tim Hudspeth says he’ll make a decision on how to proceed with the remaining five predatory criminal sexual assault charges after the sentencing hearing.
Hudspeth wants to thank Detective Trent Swagler and the officers of the Salem Police Department, the Illinois State Police Crime Lab, and the staff and employees of the Amy Center and SAFE. Together, Hudspeth says they were able to gather the evidence needed to prove the defendant committed these horrendous acts against a young child. He says he is truly happy they were able to obtain some level of justice for this victim and appreciates Judge Stedelin’s guilty verdict.
Hudspeth says the victim testified via closed-circuit TV along with her mother, the former Amy Center employee who interviewed her, as well as Swagler and a forensic scientist from the crime lab.
Gibbs took the stand in his own defense and denied committing the sexual acts.
Salem Police says the acts allegedly occurred over a time period spanning from January 2020 through August 2021. Detectives began their investigation after one of the alleged victim’s parents notified them after their child had come forward about what had happened to her. As the investigation continued, the two other girls came forward.
After the guilty plea, Gibbs bond was revoked and he will remain in jail until the August 23rd sentencing hearing.
