Quincy teen involved in sexual assault case to appear Wednesday afternoon on ‘Dr. Phil’

QUINCY — The national spotlight will once again shine on Quincy and the decision by a local judge to overturn a guilty verdict in a sexual assault case.

Cameron Vaughan, the 16-year-old Quincy High School student who claimed she was raped by 18-year-old Drew Clinton last summer, will appear Wednesday on “Dr. Phil,” which airs at 3 p.m. weekdays on WGEM-TV.

A promotional video for the show can be seen here.

The following paragraph describing Wednesday’s show was posted on the “Dr. Phil” website.

“National outrage grew after an Illinois judge made a shocking decision to overturn the guilty verdict of 18-year-old Drew Clinton, who had been convicted of one count of criminal sexual assault. The judge stated the prosecution had failed to prove their case and that the 148 days Drew had spent in county jail awaiting sentencing was “plenty of punishment.” Sixteen-year-old Cameron Vaughan claims she was passed out after a high school graduation party when she woke up and found Drew holding a pillowcase over her face and raping her. Drew denied Cameron’s allegations and maintained their encounter was consensual. Cameron and her father speak out in an exclusive interview.”

The case was first reported on Muddy River News. It has been picked up by news agencies around the world. 

Phil McGraw, one of the most well-known mental health professionals in the world, is the host of one of daytime TV’s top-rated programs, “Dr. Phil.”

The show, in its 20th season, “continues to provide the most comprehensive forum on mental health issues in the history of television,” according to promotional material on the Dr. Phil website.

Adrian is no longer handling criminal cases at the Adams County Courthouse after an administrative order was signed last month by Pittsfield judge Frank McCartney, chief judge for the Eighth Judicial Circuit.

Adams County State’s Attorney Gary Farha said in late January he will be taking steps to put the criminal sexual assault case back in front of a judge for sentencing after speaking with David Robinson, the chief deputy director at the State’s Attorney’s Appellate Prosecutor’s Office in Springfield.

“There is a mechanism for us to proceed, which we are going to explore,” Farha told Muddy River News on January 19. “It will involve (the State’s Attorney’s Appellate Prosecutor’s Office), more or less as an appeal, and it also will involve the Attorney General’s office. (Robinson) said he already has spoken to (Illinois Attorney General) Kwame Raoul. There’s also a possibility the Supreme Court will act, but we don’t know that yet. (Robinson) was pretty certain that we might hear from the Supreme Court, because they can take the initiative on their own.”