June 28, 2023 JOLIET — Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow announces that Kenneth Anderson, 37, of Joliet, was sentenced today by Circuit Judge Daniel Rippy to 30 years in prison for Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault of a Child, a Class X felony. Anderson pled guilty of the offense before Judge Rippy on June 13. The child was 11 years old at the time of the sexual assault in 2019.

“Preying on a young child for sexual gratification is the most heinous crime imaginable. Think of what you were like when you were 11 years old. Then imagine what must go through the mind of a child that age when being sexually assaulted,” Glasgow said. “How can a child comprehend any of this? That is why the compassionate, trauma-informed counseling services provided by our highly experienced therapy staff at the CAC are so vital. Our trained therapists help abused children address the aftermath of the severe trauma they experienced and go on to lead productive lives.”

Anderson will receive 1,382 days credit for time served. He will be subject to mandatory supervised release for a minimum of three years up to his natural life based upon a subsequent determination by the Department of Corrections. The sentence will be served at 85 percent. Anderson will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Glasgow thanked Assistant State’s Attorney Mary Fillipitch, Director of Victim Witness Services Nichole Pasteris, and then-Joliet Detective Shawn Filipiak for their diligence and compassion in this sensitive matter. He also commended CAC Senior Forensic Interviewer Cruz Arzuaga and Senior Trauma Therapist Lorraine Guerrero Neumayer for their dedication.

Glasgow established the Will County CAC in 1995 to improve the integrity of all investigations into allegations of child sexual abuse, while providing hope, healing and justice for the children and their families. The CAC is a child-focused, coordinated response center that provides hope, healing and justice for children who have endured severe physical abuse, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, neglect, and exposure to violence.

Before the Will County CAC opened, children who suffered sexual abuse were subjected to numerous uncoordinated and sometimes suggestive interviews by multiple statements to numerous parties, including law enforcement, child welfare workers and medical professionals, thereby increasing their trauma and enabling predators to exploit differences in their various statements.

Now, when police or child protective services believe a child is being abused, the child is brought to the CAC—a safe, child-focused environment—by a caregiver or other “safe” adult. At the CAC, the child tells their story once to a trained forensic interviewer in a neutral environment who knows the right nonsuggestive questions to ask in a manner that does not retraumatize the child. Then, a multidisciplinary team that includes law enforcement, mental health, prosecution, child protective services (DCFS), victim advocacy, and other professionals make decisions together about how to best help the child based on the interview. The CAC also provides state-of-the-art trauma- and family-based counseling to the child and non-offending family members to facilitate the healing process.

Annually, the Will County CAC serves more than 700 children who have endured physical and sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, child pornography, neglect, and exposure to violence.