An Illinois appellate court has overturned a disorderly behavior conviction against a historical childhood minister at Harvest Bible Chapel in Aurora on the grounds of double jeopardy.
Paxton Singer, 27, of Sugar Grove, used to be convicted in November 2019 after being accused of sending text messages of a sexual nature to a teen parishioner in 2017. He used to be sentenced to 12 months of court supervision, primarily primarily primarily based on court paperwork.
The Illinois 2nd District Appellate Court ruled that Kane County Circuit Court Mediate Michael Noland erred by refusing to brush aside the case against Singer after he talked about Singer could well procure a brand new trial, announcing he would preserve to analysis more proof about the timeline and the dates of the texts, the court talked about.
In December 2020, Singer’s attorneys argued that a brand new trial would quantity to double jeopardy for his or her client and requested the case be dropped. The circuit court rescinded the repeat for a brand new trial.
A 3-particular person panel of appellate court judges last week ruled that Noland’s assertion about the proof supposed he did not focal point on prosecutors presented satisfactory proof to express Singer guilty past an cheap doubt.
The panel talked about that by making this assertion, Noland acquitted Singer.
Appellate Court Justice Kathryn Zenoff wrote that “an mistaken acquittal remains to be an acquittal.”
Singer used to be charged with misdemeanor disorderly behavior in October 2018 and accused of stressful and alarming the oldsters of a 15-yr-historical Harvest Church parishioner. The youngster’s father testified within the route of the 2019 trial and talked about he realized Singer sent text messages in July and August 2017 to his son, including messages of a sexual nature and asking if his folks would allow him to place overnight.
Singer met the teen when he attended an occasion at the church’s campus in Aurora, where Singer labored at the time, officers talked about. Singer used to be terminated from his work at the church in January 2018.
Harvest Bible Chapel is a nice evangelical congregation with several Chicago-home locations. It also operates a college, Harvest Christian Academy, in Elgin.
