Ottawa man loses appeal in child sexual assault

An Ottawa man serving 18 years for sexually assaulting a child struck out with an appeals court Thursday.

Ayrimis J. Scerini, 34, asked the Third District Appellate Court to overturn his conviction and sentence for predatory criminal sexual assault. But in a unanimous ruling, the appeals court justices said Scerini’s judge got it right both at trial and at sentencing.

Scerini was charged after an investigation by the La Salle County Sheriff’s Office into an incident that took place March 5, 2022, in rural Marseilles. In a videotaped interview, the 7-year-old girl described an illicit act and identified Scerini as her assailant.

At a trial later that year, prosecutors got a second victim to take the stand. The second victim described a similar course of conduct as what the 7-year-old experienced.

On appeal, Scerini said Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. was wrong to introduce “other crimes” evidence at trial and to consider it at sentencing.

Thursday, the justices issued a ruling and decided Scerini was wrong on both counts. Justice Adrienne Albrecht said Ryan was within his rights to consider evidence of a pattern of sexual misconduct.

“Further, defendant’s clear and un-coerced confession to the charged crime, along with the properly admitted portion of the video (of the victim’s statement) and (her) trial testimony, overwhelmingly established defendant’s guilt,” Albrecht wrote.

The justices also noted Ryan was careful, at sentencing, to say he had not placed a great deal of weight on the hearsay evidence.

“Instead, the court believed the need to deter others and (Scerini’s) abuse of his position of power and trust were significant factors in aggravation and was unable to find a single factor in mitigation,” Albrecht wrote. “Given the sentence was within the applicable range, the court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing (Scerini).”

Scerini is scheduled for parole in summer 2037, when he’ll be 46 years of age.