Molested child says he will ‘try to pick up the pieces in our broken family’ after Williams gets 25-year sentence

QUINCY — The boy, now almost a teenager, sat in the witness chair and glared at Michael Williams, the family member who had assaulted him for years but now was about to be sentenced for his crimes.

“I thought he was supposed to protect me, but he hurt me in ways no child should have to deal with,” the boy said as he read his victim impact statement in Adams County Circuit Court. “For a long time, I would wake up and have nightmares about (him). In the end, he tore my family apart.”

“At the end of the day, Mikey, you’re going to prison, but I’ve got to go home and try to pick up the pieces in our broken family. I told because I just wanted to go back to being the happy, smiling, playful child I once was … the child he took away.”

The boy then got out of the witness chair, wearing the Lil’ Guardian leather vest given to him by the Guardians of the Children, a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization of motorcycle enthusiasts who use motorcycles to help children overcome child abuse. He scowled at Williams as he returned to sit in the courtroom with his family.

Williams was sentenced by Circuit Judge Tad Brenner on Monday morning in Adams County Circuit Court after accepting a plea deal in September from the Adams County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Williams pled guilty in September to two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, a Class X felony punishable for between six to 60 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections if he was found guilty by a jury. 

His plea agreement capped the years he could spend in prison at 25. Brenner sentenced him to 17 years on one count and eight years on the other. Williams was given credit for 327 days served in the Adams County Jail. He is eligible for 85 percent sentencing under Illinois’ truth in sentencing law.

A third count of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

The victim’s mother also read a statement, saying it was always easy to remember Jan. 11 because it was her mother’s birthday. Now it’s also the day Williams was arrested.

“It was supposed to be her best birthday yet, and instead it ended up being the day that ruined all of our lives,” she said. “Instead of cake and guests, my house ended up flooded with police. My mom was scared to death. My children and I were heartbroken because our lives were turned upside down.

“The man we thought we knew, the one we loved so much, the very hands meant to protect us, we needed to be saved from. It’s a hard reality to face. We have all had such a hard time dealing with this. We’re all engaged in counseling. Still, the cries are sounds that never leave my mind. The entire night plays over and over in my head like one bad dream. The only problem is that it’s not a dream. This is the rest of our lives.”

The victim’s mother also said Jan. 11 will be remembered for her son’s bravery and strength.

“That night, he ended his physical torture, although the mental is still there, causing him nightmares,” she said. “That night, my son became his siblings’ hero. When you ask why he brought (the assaults) to (our) attention, he did it because he didn’t want it to happen to any of them. That night, (the victim) became my hero too. 

“(They were) such big words from such a pure heart. He tried to protect all of us from the one person we should have felt safe with. The wool Mr. Williams pulled over our eyes has been lifted. Today, we’re here seeing him for who he is and not who he tried to convince us he was. Today, we’re here together to seek justice for the real victim — my son.”

Assistant State’s Attorney Laura Keck started her argument for Williams’ sentence by repeating the victim’s comment: “He hurt me in ways no child should (be hurt). I thought he was supposed to protect me.”

“Those are the words, since I read them when (the victim) gave them to our office, that haunted me in this case,” Keck said. “Even more, what haunted me is that he continued to say, ‘I’ve got to go home and try to pick up the pieces of our broken family.’ I know he’s almost a teenager now, but he is a little boy, and he still wants to take care of his family, and that’s still what he’s worried about. 

“He didn’t tell what the defendant was doing to him for years because he thought it was the best thing to protect his brothers and sisters. He just let it happen and didn’t tell anyone so his brothers and sisters were protected. … Even today, he still wants to take care of his family. … He has to do what no person, much less a little child, should have to endure.”

Keck said Williams said in a written statement that he “hoped everyone knows my acts were not me,” blaming his crime on being under the influence of mushrooms. She also said Williams claimed he “hadn’t really been in trouble for 14 years” and deserved mercy from the court, saying “it won’t ever happen again.”

“Your Honor, it is going to happen again if he’s let out,” Keck said. “He has time and again taken advantage of somebody (for whom) he was in a position of trust and authority and supervision.”

Keck said Williams said during a sex offender evaluation that he didn’t believe he needed treatment and didn’t believe it would do any good.

“The expert (says Williams) blames the victim, stating the molestation only occurred because the victim was ‘curious’ and ‘requested’ to perform oral sex on him,” Keck said. “To his credit, he does write in some of his statements that he is sorry and that he has remorse. But to be quite frank, when he is still blaming the victim, even with the sex offender evaluator, I have some questions about whether or not that’s just to get less time.”

Defense attorney Nick Rober said Williams was remorseful and pled guilty, preventing a painful trial and hearing the facts repeated. He said the sex offender evaluation said he had between a 4.8 and 7 percent chance to re-offend. Rober asked for Williams to receive a sentence of 12 years.

“He’s 34 years old … and there is a possibility that he can be reformed,” Rober said. “There’s a possibility that this punishment may prevent any recidivism in the future. … Obviously, Mr. Williams will have to go through those treatments. He’s going to have to recognize that he has a problem, because he absolutely does.

“But should his whole life, or the remainder of the good portion of his life, be spent in the Department of Corrections? We’ll leave that to the court.”

Williams, who wore his long hair in front of his face for many of his court appearances, had it in a ponytail for his hearing. However, he looked at the floor and sobbed as he made his statement of allocution.

“I’m sorry, and I hope they can forgive me,” Williams said.

Brenner said it was “completely inappropriate” that Williams has tried to cast blame upon the victim of his crimes.

“Even though remorse has been expressed here, as well as in the (pre-sentence investigation), it doesn’t seem to be sincere remorse if he is still blaming the victim,” he said. “This is the type of harm that cannot be measured in terms of broken bones. These are emotional scars. We all pray that they are minimized, but they will never go away. 

“We also have to look at the fact that this is something where we want to focus on deterrence so this does not happen to other children. Even the victim wanted to make sure that this did not happen to other children. That is true heroism on the part (the victim) to come forward. This is not a single act or a single occasion in isolation. What we have is a five-year pattern of abuse, conduct and crime. Mr. Williams said that it happened five or six times. Even if we take his version, it is a whole lot of victimization.”