Wheaton man who assaulted ex-girlfriend wants out of mental hospital
A 31-year-old Wheaton man found not guilty by reason of insanity in the 2014 battery and sexual assault of an ex-girlfriend could be released from the Elgin Mental Health Center as soon as late August.
Joseph McHale could be held for inpatient treatment through Feb. 1, 2069, as part of his sentencing guidelines, but his attorneys have filed a petition for discharge or conditional release from the care of the Illinois Department of Human Services.
They say he no longer meets the criteria to require inpatient psychiatric treatment and that he has nearly completed all the programs available to him, including nearly completing a program on re-entering society.
They also argue his symptoms are in remission and have been for two years when McHale is on his psychotropic medicine.
Judge Robert Miller ruled during Wednesday's discharge hearing that McHale is still in need of inpatient therapy but that he will reopen the hearing in late August for a ruling.
Prosecutors say on Aug. 2, 2014, a 23-year-old woman told police McHale forced his way into her Glen Ellyn apartment about 8:30 a.m. that day, hit her and sexually assaulted her.
Taking the witness stand during Wednesday's hearing, McHale said he understood why what he did was a crime and said he could still visualize the attack. He said his medication at that time was not working and he had a hallucination about her cheating with a co-worker.
He also said he believes he is "very stable and remissive of all symptoms" and said he would continue taking them upon his release.
"I believe it would take three to four weeks for my mental health to deteriorate if I were to stop taking my medication," he said.
McHale said his social worker and his father have been working tirelessly to find him a halfway house-type facility he could be released to but many, he expects, will refuse him if he is required to register as a sex offender. Without a willing facility, McHale said, his parents have invited him back into their Wheaton home and agreed to oversee his outpatient treatment,
Assistant State's Attorney Lee Roupas argued that McHale's defense presented no medical evidence other than McHale's own opinion regarding his mental state and said with a 2069 release date, McHale is "right on target" and making the appropriate progress for an inpatient.
McHale will next appear in court on July 11 for a status update on his progress. A late-August court date will likely be set at that time.