Kane judge rules sexually violent man be committed to custody

Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced that a Kane County judge found a man convicted of possessing child sexual abuse materials is a sexually violent person, according to a news release.

The Attorney General’s Office prosecuted the case.

Kane County Circuit Court Judge Clint Hull ordered that Erik Paxton, 36, be committed to the custody of the Illinois Department of Human Services.

Paxton had been detained in the IDHS Treatment and Detention Facility awaiting his trial, according to the release.

“The court has found this defendant continues to be a danger to the community,” Raoul said in the release. “I am committed to protecting Illinois families and communities from those who prey on innocent children.”

Paxton pleaded guilty in 2014 to possessing child sexual abuse materials and was sentenced to four years in prison.

Under the Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act, Raoul’s office files cases seeking to commit offenders to the custody of IDHS.

To be committed under the act, a person must have been convicted of a sexually violent offense and suffer from a mental disorder. The Attorney General’s Office must also prove that the offender is likely to commit future acts of sexual violence if released from custody, according to the release.

Once committed to IDHS, offenders are re-evaluated on a regular basis to determine if they continue to meet the criteria for commitment as a sexually violent person.

Senior Assistant Attorney General David Kalicki and Deputy Bureau Chief Shannon O’Brien handled the case for Raoul’s Sexually Violent Persons Bureau, according to the release.