A 72-year-old Mt. Vernon man has been ordered held without bond after being charged with failure to register as a sex offender and five new counts of being in possession of child sex abuse material.
The judge found Virgil Higginson to be a real and present threat to the safety of young children in the community, noting similar convictions in 2008, 2010, and 2014 for which he was sentenced to the Illinois Department of Corrections. It was also noted with the new arrest he had already violated pretrial release conditions.
Higginson’s public defender argued for his pretrial release and a hearing was set for September first to consider further testimony.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Deputies, Detectives and Detectives with Mt. Vernon Police Department reportedly contacted Higginson during an unrelated investigation on Thursday. During the investigation, they were able to collect evidence which led to a forensic examination of electronic devices. The investigation is ongoing.
