Man pleads guilty to reduced charge in sex case

A former counselor at a Wauconda church day care camp accused of molesting a young girl pleaded guilty to a reduced charge Friday in Lake County Circuit Court.

Zachary Carlson, 20, who was originally charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse, was placed on probation for two years after pleading guilty to misdemeanor battery.

Carlson was found not guilty of predatory criminal sexual assault after a trial last year in which the victims in both cases against Carlson testified.

Assistant State's Attorney Patricia Fix said Carlson, of Chicago, was accused of molesting the 7 and 8-year-old girls in 2007 while he was working as a counselor at the Messiah Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wauconda.

As the second case against Carlson moved closer to trial, Fix said she consulted with the families of both girls in seeking a resolution.

“It was a difficult decision,” Fix told Circuit Judge Fred Foreman on Friday. “But the state decided that to put children of this age through another trial with an uncertain outcome was not in the best interests of the children.”

The plea negotiation reached with Carlson's attorney, Steve Simonian of Waukegan, calls for Carlson to spend 20 days in jail starting Dec. 6 and to make a $500 contribution to the Lake County Children's Advocacy Center.

Carlson will be allowed to live in Chicago, where he told Foreman he is attending DePaul University, but his probation will be monitored by the Lake County probation office's sex offender unit.

Fix said that while Carlson will not be required to register as a sex offender under the terms of his plea agreement, he will have to have a sex offender evaluation and complete any counseling or therapy his probation officer recommends.

“Our goal (in fashioning the plea agreement) was for the defendant to receive treatment for these issues,” Fix told Foreman. “Hopefully, that will happen and we will never see him in here again.”

The agreement also calls for Carlson to perform 175 hours of public service and provides for an additional 160 days in jail if he violates any of the conditions of his probation.

Misdemeanor battery carries a maximum penalty of up to one year in jail, while aggravated criminal sexual abuse is punishable by up to seven years in prison.