Charles H.W. Burch
PITTSFIELD, Ill. — Jessica Fuller, a child welfare specialist for Chaddock Foster and Adoption, testified during the Austin Rodhouse sentencing hearing on Wednesday afternoon in Pike County Circuit Court that she was with Rodhouse’s two sons when they saw their mother on May 24, 2024, for the first time since she had been hospitalized on…
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QUINCY — Pike County Assistant State’s Attorney Leecia Carnes said after an eight-woman, four-man jury found Austin Rodhouse guilty of 19 felony charges in November that she likely would not charge his wife with abuse crimes — but she left it as a possibility. “Having seen what she’s been put through all these years —…
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PITTSFIELD, Ill. — Two more women testified Thursday morning about Austin Rodhouse’s sexual encounters and the physical and emotional abuse heaped upon his wife during the eighth day of his trial in Pike County Circuit Court. In all, eight women who were either allegedly assaulted by Rodhouse or were in the family home in Pleasant…
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WARNING: This story includes descriptions of explicit violence and graphic sexual content that may be considered profane, vulgar or offensive to some readers. Reader discretion is advised. PITTSFIELD, Ill. — The state rested, the defense offered no witnesses, closing statements will begin Friday morning and the jury is expected to begin deliberations on Friday afternoon…
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WARNING: This story includes descriptions of explicit violence and graphic sexual content that may be considered profane, vulgar or offensive to some readers. Reader discretion is advised. PITTSFIELD, Ill. — The father of Austin Rodhouse’s wife explained the frustration of not being able to help his daughter and grandsons, fearing for their safety as they…
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PITTSFIELD, Ill. — When Austin Rodhouse’s wife confirmed during testimony Wednesday morning that she performed and recorded an oral sex act with her oldest son while her husband was working in Utah, defense attorney Casey Schnack said, “You knew it was wrong.” “I did it because I was threatened and manipulated,” Rodhouse’s wife replied. That…
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WARNING: This story includes descriptions of explicit violence and graphic sexual content that may be considered profane, vulgar or offensive to some readers. Reader discretion is advised. PITTSFIELD, Ill. — People in the courtroom for each day of the Austin Rodhouse trial knew the video eventually would be played. Judge Charles H.W. Burch warned everybody…
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Messages found on Rodhouses' phones show discussions about sex with son, submissions and punishments
WARNING: This story includes descriptions of explicit violence and graphic sexual content that may be considered profane, vulgar or offensive to some readers. Reader discretion is advised. PITTSFIELD, Ill. — An eight-woman, four-man jury listened Friday afternoon to 3½ hours of text and Snapchat messages discovered on the cellphones of Austin Rodhouse and his wife…
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WARNING: This story includes descriptions of explicit violence and graphic sexual content that may be considered profane, vulgar or offensive to some readers. Reader discretion is advised. PITTSFIELD, Ill. — Another woman testified Friday morning during the Austin Rodhouse trial about how he gave her “Austin massages” when she was a child. However, this woman…
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WARNING: This story includes descriptions of explicit violence and graphic sexual content that may be considered profane, vulgar or offensive to some readers. Reader discretion is advised. PITTSFIELD, Ill. — She cried when she walked past her son when she entered a courtroom in the Pike County Courthouse on Friday morning. She cried again as…
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WARNING: This story includes descriptions of explicit violence and graphic sexual content that may be considered profane, vulgar or offensive to some readers. Reader discretion is advised. PITTSFIELD, Ill. — Much of the first two days of testimony in the Austin Rodhouse trial in Pike County Circuit Court has centered around his wife and their…
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WARNING: This story includes descriptions of explicit violence and graphic sexual content that may be considered profane, vulgar or offensive to some readers. Reader discretion is advised. PITTSFIELD, Ill. — Five more people testified on behalf of the state on Wednesday during the third day of the Austin Rodhouse trial in Pike County Circuit Court,…
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WARNING: This story includes descriptions of explicit violence and graphic sexual content that may be considered profane, vulgar or offensive to some readers. Reader discretion is advised. PITTSFIELD, Ill. — Some simply couldn’t watch, while others looked at the ground. Some took deep breaths, and others held their breath. Several members of the eight-woman, four-man…
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WARNING: This story includes descriptions of explicit violence and graphic sexual content that may be considered profane, vulgar or offensive to some readers. Reader discretion is advised. PITTSFIELD, Ill. — Jordan Gerard, a former trooper with the Illinois State Police, remembered the look on the face of Austin Rodhouse’s wife when he first spoke with…
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PITTSFIELD, Ill. — A Kansas man pled guilty on Friday to seven charges of child pornography and indecent solicitation of a child in Pike County and will spend 25 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Justin Lee Howard Richards-Olby, 22, of Wellington, Kan., appeared with Public Defender Rick Zimmerman in Pike County Circuit Court…
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QUINCY — The trepidation was noticeable in Judge Charles H.W. Burch’s voice as he listened Wednesday afternoon in Adams County Circuit Court to the details in a negotiated plea for Mark Lawrence. Lawrence, 65, who with his wife Chris founded the 2X4’s for Hope charity, agreed to an Alford plea on one count of theft…
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QUINCY — Holly Henze is anxious to take over a felony criminal court docket again, but this time it will be from a different perspective. After working in the Adams County Public Defender’s office from 2003 to 2016, Henze has handled the family/divorce docket in Adams County since July 2016 when she became a judge…
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QUINCY — The attorney for a Quincy man, believed to have set fire to the apartment complex in which he was living, filed a motion for an affirmative defense on Wednesday. Public Defender John Citro filed the motion Wednesday morning in the Adams County Circuit Clerk’s office on behalf of Joseph Lindsay, 25. Lindsay and…
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QUINCY — A Quincy man was sentenced Monday afternoon to six years in the Illinois Department of Corrections after pleading guilty to a charge of child pornography. Cooper Davis, 24, appeared in Adams County Circuit Court with Public Defender Mark Taylor before Judge Charles H.W. Burch. According to court documents, Davis agreed to plead guilty…
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PITTSFIELD, Ill. – John E. Resor of Quincy was sentenced Wednesday in Pike County Circuit Court to 14 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for an aggravated domestic battery committed on March 19 in Barry. Judge Charles H.W. Burch also sentenced Resor to concurrent 10-year sentences on two counts of aggravated battery. Resor must…
Read Full Article February 22, 2025
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