SYCAMORE – One of oldest active sexual assault cases in DeKalb County will proceed, after a judge denied a lawyer’s motion to dismiss it because his client was denied a speedy trial.
Richard J. Janusz, 50, of the 500 block of Nathan Lattin Lane in Sycamore, has been in jail on $5 million bond since July 31, 2014, when he was charged with 26 counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a girl, then younger than 13, and four counts of photographing child pornography, court records show.
If convicted, Janusz faces between six and 900 years in prison.
The alleged incidents happened between January 2010 and July 30, 2014, and the case is expected to go to trial starting Feb. 13.
“We’re still on for a trial date?” Judge Philip Montgomery asked Janusz’s lawyer, Peter Gruber, on Thursday afternoon. “You’re my No. One priority, Mr. Gruber.
Gruber wrote in the motion to dismiss that Janusz, a former air traffic controller, was not arraigned for 630 days, “a continuous delay attributable to the state.”
According to the motion, the trial date was supposed to be set within
120 days of Janusz’s arrest. The motion lists nine dates the case was delayed because the court wasn’t available, and another 11 in which the state wasn’t available.
“These delays, not attributable to the defendant, exceed 120 days, and therefore constitute a violation of defendant’s right to a speedy trial,” the motion reads.
Montgomery diligently addressed each and every date, pointing out that in all cases, the speedy trial “clock” was stopped with the defense’s agreement to a continuance, also pointing out that Gruber failed to make multiple court dates and oftentimes was the one asking for continuances.
Montgomery denied the motion; he also denied a motion to dismiss 22 of the 30 counts in January 2017, and has denied the defense’s motion to not allow evidence collected during the investigation as well as statements Janusz made to police, court records show.
The only other motion yet to be ruled upon at the moment is the state’s request for the victim to be allowed to testify via closed-circuit video, arguing it will be difficult for the girl to be in a courtroom with the defendant.
A final trial setting is expected to happen at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, leading up to the trial the next week.