Chicago —(ENEWSPF)–September 29, 2016. Attorney General Lisa Madigan today announced that a DuPage County jury has found that a registered sex offender is a Sexually Violent Person (SVP) following a one-day trial.
DuPage County Circuit Court Judge Paul M. Fullerton ruled that Lawrence Schauer, 63, of Hillside, Ill., must remain in the custody of the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) for treatment.
“This offender has an alarming record of assaulting women,” Madigan said. “I commend the jury on its verdict that will not allow this offender to return to a community where he could sexually assault another woman.”
Under the Sexually Violent Persons Act, Madigan’s office prosecutes cases seeking to commit offenders to the custody of IDHS as SVPs. To be committed under the act, a person must have been convicted of a sexually violent offense and suffer from a mental disorder. Additionally, prosecutors must prove that the offender is likely to commit future acts of sexual violence if released from custody. Once committed to IDHS, offenders are re-evaluated on a regular basis to determine if they continue to meet the criteria for commitment as a sexually violent person.
Following the judge’s verdict, Smallwood was returned to the IDHS SVP Treatment and Detention Facility in Rushville, Ill. Schauer has been convicted for assaults against women twice before. In 2000, he was convicted of residential burglary and aggravated criminal sexual abuse after breaking into a woman’s apartment and assaulting her while she slept. In 1993, Schauer was convicted of unlawful restraint and aggravated battery for assaulting a woman who was jogging.
Since the enactment of the SVP law, over 400 convicted sex offenders have been committed to the custody of IDHS. Madigan’s office currently has an additional 191 petitions filed with courts around Illinois seeking commitment of offenders who otherwise would be released from prison.
Assistant Attorneys General Elizabeth Cox and Margaret Menzenberger are handling the case for Madigan’s Sexually Violent Persons Bureau.
Source: http://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov
