State's attorney accuses opponent of interfering with case

State's Attorney Kevin Lyons accused opponent Darin LaHood of interfering with the prosecution of a man accused in multiple sexual assaults last year.

Lyons accused LaHood on Tuesday of going to the house of a minor victim and trying to talk to the girl's family, a move he said is an 'offensive invasion into the private life of a rape victim, a minor no less, who was sexually assaulted and whose attacker is in jail awaiting trial.'

Lyons, who faces LaHood in the November election for the office of state's attorney, said LaHood went to the house twice, once last week and once on Monday. The second time, he was confronted by investigators from the state's attorney's office and drove off, Lyons said to reporters Tuesday afternoon.

Lyons didn't use the name of the girl or her alleged assailant. During a hastily called news conference, LaHood said the man was Monterius Hinkle, a South Peoria teen charged with three sexual assaults and linked to two others, all involving minors.

Lyons said LaHood went to the house Thursday and spoke to the victim's mother. According to the woman, LaHood made some inquiries about the case, which made her suspicious.

'They said they sensed he didn't really know her because she goes by a shortened nickname,' Lyons said of the mother's reaction. 'Then, strangely, he said something about the state's attorney 'not really caring about our case because we are south siders.'

'The parents said they asked the man if he had a card, and he gave them this,' Lyons said, holding up a large, blown-up copy of LaHood's business card.

LaHood didn't deny going to the house. Rather, he said he was told the girl's father and others involved with the case were 'outraged' Hinkle was free at the time of the alleged sexual assaults.

'I talked to Peoria detectives who were outraged that this monster was out walking the streets, and they should be,' LaHood said. 'The criminal justice system failed them.'

He did deny claims made by the mother to Lyons about the state's attorney not caring or that he was 'the new prosecutor of the case.'

LaHood said he talked to the father on Monday on the phone and went back to the house, where representatives of Lyons' office were waiting.

'When investigators approached the driver's door of attorney LaHood's car, he looked at them through the window, put the car in gear and sped away,' Lyons said.

LaHood didn't deny leaving, saying he 'didn't feel comfortable being there,' and the girl's father wouldn't feel comfortable either if he stayed.

The Republican candidate also didn't answer repeated questions about how he learned where the victim's family lived because such police reports are confidential and not part of the court record or accessible to the public. Instead, he said, once again, that people should be outraged that Hinkle was out walking the streets last year when he should have been behind bars.

Police Chief Steven Settingsgaard didn't know from whom LaHood got his information. He also said he didn't know what impact, if any, this episode could have on Hinkle's case.

'I do know that I look forward to the election being over soon,' he said.

Hinkle's case is set for a pretrial conference later this week and trial next month. When reached by phone, his attorney, Kevin Lowe of the public defender's office, said, 'That's my main concern. This is a case that has already garnered significant media attention.'

'The current round of publicity makes it impossible for him to receive a fair trial in Peoria County, and as a result, I'll be filing a motion to change venue,' Lowe said.

LaHood maintains he did not go to the family's house for political gain. He said he wanted only to find out how the father felt about the case. Rather, the attorney said the accusations by Lyons were made to deflect attention from another endorsement by a police union, this time the Peoria Heights Police Benevolent Association, who backed LaHood instead of Lyons, a 20-year incumbent.

So far, the union membership of all the county's police departments have endorsed LaHood.

'If I had every police department in the county opposing me, I would be making stuff up as well,' he said.

Andy Kravetz can be reached at (309) 686-3283 or akravetz@pjstar.com .