Judge finds Rochelle man guilty of sexual exploitation of a child

OREGON – A Rochelle man was found guilty May 24 of the sexual exploitation of a child in 2022 after a one-day bench trial in Ogle County earlier this month.

Dennis A. Sage, 68, will appear in court again at 10 a.m. June 18 for a post-trial motion hearing in front of Judge John “Ben” Roe, who found Sage guilty of the felony offense after reviewing testimony from a May 1 bench trial.

Sage was charged with knowingly enticing, coercing or persuading a girl to remove her clothing for his own sexual arousal or gratification on or about June 1 to June 30, 2022. Roe found Sage not guilty of three similar charges on different dates in 2021 and 2022.

In June 2022, the Rochelle Police Department investigated a sexual exploitation complaint made by a girl against Sage, according to a news release from Ogle County State’s Attorney Mike Rock.

During the May 1 trial, the girl, who was 9 at the time of the alleged offense, testified that Sage told her he needed to examine her to see if she was cleaning properly after using the bathroom.

“He said he wanted to check to see if I was clean and to keep it a secret,” she said.

Rochelle Detective Elvis Baneski interviewed Sage in July 2022. In one of the recorded interviews, Sage said he was trying to teach the girl proper hygiene.

“I would check her once in a while. If she wasn’t clean, I would go make her clean,” Sage said. “I wasn’t touching her or anything.”

Sage said he did not raise his concerns of her cleanliness with her mother, aunt or grandmother. He admitted that he became “semi-aroused” once but immediately “shut it down.” He said he didn’t bring up the issue with any other family members because he was concerned his “intentions would be misunderstood.”

Baneski said he also watched an interview with the girl at the Shining Star Children’s Advocacy Center in Dixon, an agency that investigates allegations of physical or sexual abuse. Shining Star conducts forensic interviews in an “age-appropriate manner while utilizing trauma-informed techniques to ensure trauma is not endured by the child,” according to the organization’s website.

Under cross-examination by Brandon Gecan, Sage’s attorney, Baneski said the initial complaint came from an Illinois Department of Children and Family Services report.

“Mr. Sage was consistent his concerns were about hygiene, correct?” Gecan said.

“Yes,” Baneski said.

Sage testified in his own defense, again insisting that he was only concerned about the girl’s hygiene.

Under cross-examination, Assistant State’s Attorney Matthew Leisten asked why Sage didn’t have a female relative check the girl.

“I was the only one, there so I took the responsibility,” he said.

Gecan argued that prosecutors had not proven that Sage had done anything for his own sexual gratification.

“His only purpose was for hygiene,” Gecan said. “There are no photos, no history, no evidence.”

Assistant State’s Attorney Melissa Voss disagreed.

“The reasoning he gives is not reasonable. He tells her to keep it a secret. It is a cover story that does not make sense. This is a sick, twisted way to gaslight a victim,” Voss said, claiming that Sage used “calculated coercion.”

Gecan said Sage had been consistent in police interviews and in his direct testimony that his sole concern was about the cleanliness of the girl. He said the Shining Star interview contained nothing about touching or any physical evidence of any sexual conduct.

“Predators take pictures. ... They record, search the internet. ... There is none of that here,” Gecan said. “No touching. No one even alleges that. Did he handle this correctly? No.”

But Leisten pointed out that Sage was “not charged with child pornography. This is child exploitation, nothing more or less. Hygiene was used as a cover. He wanted this to be a secret.”

Rock said sexual exploitation of a child is a Class 4 felony punishable by up to three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections but also is punishable by probation.

“The conviction does require sex offender registration,” Rock said.