Marseilles youth minister charged with sexually assaulting a child gets pre-trial release

A rural Marseilles man who will stand trial March 4 for allegedly sexually assaulting a child was permitted Wednesday to be released from the La Salle County Jail, albeit under 24-hour home confinement.

The slightest violation, and I’ll pull him back in.”

—  Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr.

The judge had a strong warning for 39-year-old Andrew D. Haines: Any deviation from the terms of his release, and Haines is going back to jail.

“The slightest violation, and I’ll pull him back in,” Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. said.

Illinois abolished cash bonds, and prosecutors now must spell out a case for why a suspect should be detained. At a Wednesday hearing in La Salle County Circuit Court, prosecutor Laura Hall asked for Haines to remain jailed, citing the Class X felony charges – Haines could face the equivalent of a life sentence – and after detailing the acts alleged to have occurred over a four-year span.

Hall also noted that although the victim was taken into protective custody and Haines was placed under a no-contact order, Haines was captured on video within a restricted area. From the La Salle County Jail, Hall said, Haines was heard on recorded calls asking for messages to be relayed to the victim.

“If he’s going to do this while he’s incarcerated, I cannot fathom what protective means the court could put on this defendant,” Hall said. “It is the state’s position that [he] poses a clear and present danger to the public if he were granted pre-trial release.”

In response, Yorkville defense attorney Kristopher Piereth said Haines has no criminal history, strong ties to La Salle County (reducing any risk of flight) and a work history that includes serving as a youth minister for an unspecified church with numerous supporters vouching for his character.

Ryan agreed that Haines would be released but said he was troubled by the alleged violation of the no-contact order. He warned Haines that no breach of the terms and conditions of his release would be tolerated.

Haines will next appear Feb. 22 for a motions hearing and again Feb. 29 for a final pre-trial conference.