Mendota man gets 3 years in prison for sex abuse

A Mendota man was sentenced Friday to three years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing a woman.

Matthew R. Spayer, 26, appeared in La Salle County Circuit Court and pleaded guilty to one count of criminal sexual abuse, a Class 4 felony carrying one to three years in prison. Additional counts were dismissed as part of the negotiated plea.

Spayer was charged in June 2021 after Mendota police were alerted to a sexually explicit video of a victim who was asleep.

Spayer and his attorney tried to suppress the evidence, saying Mendota police needed a warrant before seizing key evidence. A La Salle County judge upheld the seizure, however, and Spayer eventually entered a plea that could result in less than 18 months actually served.

Spayer declined an opportunity to address Judge Cynthia M. Raccuglia before sentencing Friday.

“It was the correct and fair disposition given the facts of the case,” said Spayer’s lawyer, Mendota defense attorney David Kaleel.