Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced a Vermilion County jury on Thursday found a convicted sex offender is a Sexually Violent Person (SVP). The case was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s office.
Vermilion County Circuit Court Judge Mark Goodwin ordered Otis Arrington, 66, of Danville, Illinois to be committed to the custody of the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS). Arrington had been detained in the IDHS Treatment and Detention Facility awaiting his trial.
“This offender’s violent history indicates his release would pose a threat to women in the community,” Raoul said. “I am committed to protecting Illinois families and communities from offenders who have been deemed sexually violent by the court.”
According to Raoul’s office, Arrington was convicted in Indiana in 1978 of rape and burglary and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Just four months after his 1989 release and while on parole, Arrington committed aggravated criminal sexual assault, home invasion, residential burglary, armed violence and armed robbery in Danville, Illinois. He was convicted and sentenced to 60 years in prison for those charges in 1990.
Under the Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act, Raoul’s office files cases seeking to commit offenders to the custody of IDHS. To be committed under the act, a person must have been convicted of a sexually violent offense and suffer from a mental disorder. The Attorney General’s office must also prove that the offender is likely to commit future acts of sexual violence if released from custody. Once committed to IDHS, offenders are reevaluated on a regular basis to determine if they continue to meet the criteria for commitment as a sexually violent person.
Senior Assistant Attorney General Nicole Bartell and Deputy Chief William Bryant handled the case for Raoul’s Sexually Violent Persons Bureau.
