Oregon man sentenced to 180 years in prison for sexually assaulting girl in 2021

OREGON – An Ogle County judge has sentenced an Oregon man to a total of 180 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in 2021.

Judge John B. Roe sentenced James S. Clevenger III to 30 years in state prison on each of six counts of criminal sexual assault. The sentences will be served consecutively. Roe found Clevenger, 61, guilty of the offenses on Feb. 16 following a bench trial in November.

The charges against Clevenger were filed in May 2022 after the Oregon Police Department investigated a sexual assault complaint made by a girl. Clevenger was accused of sexually assaulting the girl between March and June of 2021.

According to court records, he was convicted of criminal sexual assault in Stephenson County in 1995 for sexually assaulting a 14-to-15-year-old girl.

“The defendant’s criminal record qualified him for a special sentencing range of 30-60 years for each count in the Illinois Department of Corrections,” Ogle County State’s Attorney Michael Rock said in a news release “Judge Roe sentenced the defendant on each count of 30 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections to be served consecutively to each other.”

Clevenger has been held in the Ogle County Jail since Roe rendered the guilty verdict in February. On July 30, Roe denied Clevenger’s motion for a new trial and/or a reconsideration of the guilty verdicts.

Clevenger is scheduled to appear in court at 11 a.m. Sept. 26 for a status hearing.