Lewd comments bring man prison term
A convicted sex offender was sentenced Wednesday to 4½ years in prison for soliciting two Waubonsie Valley High School girls in Aurora.
Lanny E. Williams, 41, made sexually explicit comments last March to the 16-year-old girls in the Chesapeake Landing apartment complex as they walked separately to their bus stop.
DuPage Circuit Judge Robert Anderson convicted Williams Jan. 9 of indecent solicitation of a child. He faced probation or up to 10 years in prison.
Williams apologized and asked for another chance. He said he had a 20-year alcohol and drug addiction problem that he's dealing with for the first time in a jail treatment program.
"I never thought anything could help," he said. "I know if you give me a chance, I will never be in a courtroom again for any ill behavior."
Williams earlier received a three-year prison term for molesting a 14-year-old girl June 12, 2003, inside his Carol Stream apartment. After serving his time, Williams was ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years and was barred from inappropriate contact with children.
Two Waubonsie Valley students complained last March that Williams made sexually explicit comments about their bodies after he initiated conversation.
They encountered Williams again, the girls said, after school as he followed them in his van and asked them to come closer. They made it home safely and told their parents, who alerted police.
Williams testified during his trial that he recalled talking to one of the girls in the complex, where he also lived, but he told the judge he stopped the conversation after learning she was younger than 17.
Williams was arrested March 9, 2007, the same day as the second girl's complaint. He faced misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges, but prosecutors later upgraded it to felony solicitation after reviewing the case.
His attorney, Elizabeth Reed, a senior assistant public defender, noted the efforts Williams has made in jail to better himself. She pointed out neither girl was touched.
But prosecutors Enza LaMonica and Joseph Ruggiero said Williams preys on young girls and, if he managed to get them alone, would have done more harm. Furthermore, the prosecution argued, the girls also said they told him their ages, 15 and 16.
"Luckily, these two girls were strong enough and came from stable enough backgrounds to immediately get law enforcement involved," LaMonica said.
Williams is eligible for parole after serving half the prison sentence. He has been in jail since last year.