Illinois man gets 60 years in child sex case

LACON, Ill. - A previously convicted sexual predator has been sentenced to 60 years in prison for attempting to sexually assault a 5-year old boy in central Illinois.

The (Peoria) Journal Star reports 39-year-old John Miller of Magnolia was sentenced in Marshall County court after pleading guilty to two counts of attempted predatory criminal sexual assault of a child. He was initially charged with assaulting the boy, but that charge was dismissed in the plea deal.

Miller could have faced life in prison if convicted of the heavier charge in a bench trial that was scheduled for Monday afternoon. He was sentenced to eight years in prison for assaulting a 4-year-old in Livingston County in 2002.

He will have to serve at least 51 years in prison under the agreement.