The jury trial for a former vocational teacher and Illinois State Police trooper charged with multiple counts of criminal sexual assault has again been vacated in Fayette County Court. 31-year old James T. Dierkes appeared in Fayette County Court on Wednesday with his defense attorney Brian Polinske for what was scheduled to be a pretrial hearing ahead of the scheduled jury trial that was set to begin next week. However, a defense motion to continue was granted and the jury trial date vacated. And with it appearing to be unlikely for a plea agreement to be reached in the matter, Judge Marc Kelly has recused himself from the case as he personally knows witnesses who have been subpoenaed and is also married to an employee of the school district. Judge Alan Lolie will now preside over the two cases. The next setting in the matter is August 31 at 1pm when a hearing will be held for a defense motion to suppress. Dierkes does remains in custody of the Fayette County Jail on $1 million bond.
Dierkes is charged with ten counts of criminal sexual assault and one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving two victims under the age of 17. The alleged crimes in the two cases he is charged in are alleged to have taken place between August 2016 and September 2019. Dierkes is a former art teacher who taught at the Okaw Area Vocational Center from 2012 to 2018 before leaving the school to become an Illinois State Police Officer, a position he held for a year after graduating from the ISP Academy and completing field training.
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