Trial dates set for couple charged with rape

SYCAMORE – Trial dates have been set for a Sycamore man and his fiancée, who are accused of repeatedly raping a 19-year-old woman in January 2017.

Thomas A. Broughton, 26, formerly of the 400 block of East State Street, and Ashley N. Zick both face sexual assault and unlawful restraint charges.

Broughton is set to go to trial at 10 a.m.
June 11, with a final pretrial hearing set for
1:30 p.m. June 7. Zick is scheduled to go to trial April 9, with a final status set for Thursday. Broughton and Zick, who gave birth to Broughton's child in fall 2016, both face the same charges.

Broughton was sentenced to two years in prison Dec. 28 for failing to register as a sex offender, and he was credited with 331 days served. He pleaded guilty in 2012 to aggravated criminal sexual abuse for inappropriately touching a 5-year-old girl and was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Prosecutors have said Broughton drove the 19-year-old victim to the couple’s apartment and gave her alcohol. He and Zick then carried the woman to the bedroom and tied her hands and feet to the bed with straps. Both raped the woman multiple times despite her saying “stop” and “no,” according to court documents.

Special prosecutor Lorinda Lamken filed a motion expected to be heard at 1:30 p.m. May 4 asking that evidence be allowed in the trial that speaks to the defendants’ character, plan, preparation and motive.

The motion said the couple similarly tried to get a 20-year-old woman to drink at their apartment in December 2016 and January 2017, and they tried to get her to stay overnight. It said Zick contacted the woman unexpectedly and offered her an iPhone 6 for $50 a month, and that when the woman arrived, Broughton made several comments about the woman’s figure and asked her to have a threesome with him and Zick. It said they offered her alcohol multiple times, but she turned it down.

Lamken also filed a motion stating that Broughton and Zick’s lawyers not be allowed to present evidence of the victim’s past sexual conduct, because there’s no proof that the conduct involved the defendants, and is thus not admissible in trial. Broughton is represented by Bob Nolan, and Zick is represented by Public Defender Tom McCulloch, who has said she was taken off electronic home monitoring Dec. 28 because she’d followed all the rules.