OREGON — Following a jury trial on Jan. 18 at the Ogle County Courthouse, a Hillcrest man was found not guilty of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, Eric Arnquist of law firm Tess, Crull & Arnquist, said.
On March 3, 2021, Ogle County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Jody T. Willis, 44, of Hillcrest, and charged him with four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child following an investigation the Ogle County Sheriff's Office began in August of 2020 in which Willis was alleged to have sexual contact with a female minor. The allegations were from 2008 and 2013.
Willis is a resident of Hillcrest and was employed as a Rochelle Fire Department firefighter for more than a decade. The prosecution proceeded to trial on one count of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. The trial commenced before Judge John B. Roe in courtroom 302 of the Ogle County Courthouse on Jan. 16 and finished on Jan. 18.
“Mr. Willis testified on Jan. 18 and vehemently denied the allegations against him,” Arnquist said. “The jury returned verdicts of not guilty on all counts in less than one hour.”
Willis was represented by Russ Crull and Arnquist from Tess, Crull & Arnquist.
“We at Tess, Crull & Arnquist pride ourselves in representing people like Jody Willis in cases just like this,” a statement from the law firm said. “These cases are exceptionally difficult due to the media and social media they receive. We thank the jury for considering all the evidence and delivering a just verdict. Mr. Willis has always unequivocally denied the allegations that were made against him. Mr. Willis waited patiently for his day in court and when that day came, Mr. Willis was completely exonerated of every single charge against him by a jury of his peers.”
