URBANA -- An Urbana man has been found guilty of sexually assaulting two young children.
Jurors deliberated for 90 minutes before finding Dante Freeman, 31, guilty of nine counts of predatory criminal sexual assault to a child under 13 years old.
State's Attorney Julia Rietz said the charges stemmed from a family member noticing the 9-year-old acting strange in January and inquiring about it, leading to child reporting that Freeman had committed sex acts on them using objects.
Assistant State's Attorney Joel Fletcher said that the first child's testimony mentioned a second child was present, and that child then disclosed their own testimony to a parent.
"This case came to light because family members of these two children recognized what was going on and immediately brought it to the authorities," Rietz said.
Both children testified at the trial this week.
"I want to express my appreciation for all of the hard work that Mr. Fletcher put into this case and also say that we are very grateful for the bravery that these survivors displayed having to testify in front of a jury about these very traumatic events," Rietz said.
When police searched Freeman's home in January, they found an object consistent with what the children described as being used on them.
Rietz said state crime lab forensic scientists testified in court that the defendant's and victims' DNA was all found on that item.
Freeman faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison at sentencing since two victims were involved.
At the time of his arrest in January, Freeman was on probation for a previous conviction of public indecency. Rietz said Freeman had been found to have stood naked in a window when a 13-year-old walked by on her way to her bus stop in 2022.
He also had an upcoming court date for a second case of public indecency in which police received a report that he allegedly walked around in an Urbana Dollar General on Dec. 27, 2023, with his genitals exposed.