Ex-Crystal Lake lawyer gets 4 years in prison for taping girl in bathroom at Algonquin fitness club

WOODSTOCK – In what a McHenry County judge called a "despicable act," a former Crystal Lake lawyer was sentenced to four years in prison for video recording a teenage girl undressing at an Algonquin fitness club.

“She has probably been psychologically damaged by the defendant’s actions,” Judge Sharon Prather said during a sentencing hearing Wednesday.

Prather said she considered all factors in determining an appropriate sentence for 49-year-old James Zeas, including the fact that he had little to no previous criminal history.

Zeas faced up to 15 years in prison after Judge Michael Feetterer found him guilty of the child pornography charge in February. Zeas is required by law to serve 50 percent of his sentence and will receive credit for the estimated four months he spent in McHenry County Jail.

Zeas also will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and no longer will be able to practice law.

A few months after the trial, Feetterer recused himself from the case because he became aware that his wife shared an office space with Zeas' divorce lawyer, making it a potential conflict of interest.

Authorities said Zeas, of Lake Barrington, took three children in June 2009 to Lifetime Fitness in Algonquin to go swimming. Zeas then secretly placed a video camera in the family bathroom and recorded a 14-year-old girl changing out of her swimsuit, prosecutors said.

Zeas’ wife found the video, in which the girl’s breasts are exposed, on his computer in 2011, but it was not turned over to police until 2015, which was about the time of the couple’s divorce, according to court documents.

Assistant State’s Attorney Sharyl Eisenstein argued that Zeas should be sentenced to seven years in prison because of his lack of remorse.

“He took this young girl’s innocence and privacy away,” Eisenstein said.

Zeas’ attorney, Barry Lewis, said his client has generally lived a law-abiding, productive life, describing him as a good person and father to his children. He said Zeas recognized he had a problem and sought treatment on his own.

“James has some value to society, to his family,” Lewis said.

He also noted that there was no explicit sexual content in the video.

Zeas apologized for what happened and said he wanted to be released to take care of his family.

“I profusely apologize for anyone I’ve hurt. This is not who I am, and this is not who I want to be,” he told the judge.

His appellate lawyer, Robert Loeb, filed a notice of appeal after Wednesday’s sentencing.