Rodhouse found guilty on all 19 charges after jury deliberates for four hours; sentencing date set for Jan. 15

Read what each attorney said in the closing arguments of the Austin Rodhouse case.

PITTSFIELD — The eight-woman, four-man jury found Austin Rodhouse guilty of all 19 charges late Friday afternoon after more than four hours of deliberations.

As each of the 19 domestic violence and sex-related felonies were read aloud by Pike County Circuit Clerk Bryce Gleckler with the accompanying verdict of guilty, Rodhouse bounced his leg and continued to doodle on paper in front of him, occasionally shaking his head.

Judge Charles H.W. Burch set Jan. 15 as the date for Rodhouse’s sentencing.

The jury found Rodhouse, a Pleasant Hill native, guilty of:

• 3 counts of aggravated domestic battery, a Class 2 felony with a sentencing range of between three and seven years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. 
• 1 count of criminal sexual assault involving force, a Class 1 felony with a sentencing range of between four and 15 years in prison.
• 4 counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, a Class X felony with a sentencing range of six to 60 years in prison.
• 3 counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, a Class X felony with a sentencing range of six to 30 years in prison.
• 2 counts of child pornography, a Class X felony with a sentencing range of six to 30 years in prison.
• 3 counts of indecent solicitation of an adult, a Class 2 felony with a sentencing range of three to seven years in prison.
• 3 counts of aggravated battery to a child, a Class 3 felony with a sentencing range of two to five years in prison.

If Rodhouse felt any emotion as the verdict was read, his face didn’t show it. 

Meanwhile, Rodhouse’s wife, identified in court documents as CC, her family and others there in support of her sat quietly in the gallery as instructed by Burch. Many appeared to be crying, occasionally dabbing their eyes with tissues.

The verdict comes after nine harrowing days of trial proceedings during which jurors were presented with what Pike County Assistant State’s Attorney Leecia Carnes referred to as “graphic and vile” evidence, including the use of several sex toys and other various items around Rodhouse’s Pleasant Hill home that he used to inflict harm upon his wife and two sons, ages 3 and 4. 

Countless photos of black eyes, bruises and bloodied lash marks revealed the extent to which CC had been abused by Rodhouse. Several explicit photos and videos depicted the severity and intensity of the abuse, including the sexual abuse of the couple’s two young children that CC testified that Rodhouse forced her to perform.

“The defendant started playing a game as a kid,” Carnes said in her closing argument earlier in the day. “He never expected anyone to beat him as an adult.”