MORRISON, Ill. — A Morrison family is outraged over a possible plea bargain for a Whiteside County man accused of sexually abusing two of his own grandchildren.
The case against Charles Von Holten dates back to 2018. He's facing eight different charges.
The charges include three class x charges of predatory criminal sexual assault and three class one charges of criminal sexual assault of his granddaughter. Von Holten also faces two class two charges for sexually assaulting another family member in 2021.
Neither of the victim's families received a copy of the plea deal. One victim's family, however, said State's Attorney Terry Costello verbally shared the possible plea bargain.
The family stated it includes: four years probation, lifetime registration as a sex offender with restrictions that are upheld under the registration, and a $10,000 fine.
The family said if that is the plea deal, it isn't enough.
"It's telling people in Whiteside County, little girls, little kids, shut up, don't talk. Don't tell what happened. That's not what we want. There's people we see daily, we see these people that have this hurts 60, 70-year-old people that had this happen to them, and they're still affected," said the father of one of the victims.
The victim's family held a victim's rights rally on April 18, a day prior to the court hearing.
Defense attorney, James Mertes said he respects the family's right to speak out.
"The First Amendment is important, right?" Mertes commented in regards to the rally. "It's no more or less important than the other rights set forth in our Constitution, including the right of a fair trial, the Fifth Amendment, the Sixth Amendment, the Eighth Amendment, those are all important protections. The right and that same bill of rights in which the First Amendment exists."
Von Holten's defense team and State's Attorney, Terry Costello agreed upon the next court date, June 8th. During the plea hearing, they will read the victim's impact statements as well as the plea hearing.