A Vandalia man has been found guilty in Fayette County Court of production of child pornography. 65-year old Dennis Pickens was in Fayette County Court on Monday and Tuesday for what was originally set to be a jury trial but was then announced to instead be a bench trial. Following the state’s argument and testimony from several members of law enforcement on the case Monday, defense attorney Troy Payne made a motion for a directed verdict that was denied by Judge Chad Miller. After Pickens chose to not take the stand and testify and the defense rested its case, the trial moved on to Tuesday for closing arguments. After hearing closing arguments and taking all arguments into consideration, Judge Miller announced that he had found Pickens guilty on all four counts of production of child pornography, which are all Class X felonies, and ruled that Pickens’ bond would be revoked and he would be detained until sentencing. There will be a status hearing on December 9 to wrap up other matters with Pickens and then a sentencing hearing will be set at a later date. With sentencing, Pickens faces a possible punishment of a minimum of six years and a maximum of up to 30 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections on each of the four counts, meaning a sentence could range from 24 years to 120 years in IDOC.
After the guilty verdict, Fayette County State’s Attorney, Brenda Mathis, who was assisted in the prosecution of Pickens by Assistant Attorney General Shannon O’Brien, representing the Office of the Attorney General, released statements on the verdict saying “My office commends the hard work and diligence from law enforcement and prosecutors that went into seeing this case successfully finished and effectuating justice for the victims. Vandalia Police Department and Greenville Police Department did a great job of investigating this case,” Mathis said. “We would also like to give a special thank you to the assistance of the Attorney General’s Office and appreciate their diligence in prosecution of Child Pornography.”
Also commenting on the verdict was Vandalia Police Chief Jeff Ray who stated “We appreciate the hard work, commitment, and teamwork on this case from the State’s Attorney’s Office, Vandalia Police Department, Greenville Police Department, and Attorney General’s Office to bring this case to a successful completion and for their efforts in bringing justice to the victims.”
“This verdict will protect children in the community from the trauma of abuse and exploitation,” said Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul. “Child survivors and their families often face a long road to recovery, and I hope this guilty verdict gives them the justice that supports them on that journey. I look forward to continued collaboration with the Fayette County State’s Attorney’s office as we protect families from child predators.”
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