Man convicted of kidnapping woman in Elgin

An Elgin man has been convicted of kidnapping a woman.

On Aug. 13, a Kane County jury convicted Darnell L. Rhodes of aggravated kidnapping inflicting great bodily harm. But the jury acquitted him of attempted murder and armed violence.

Prosecutors presented evidence that between March 13 and March 14, 2023, Rhodes and co-defendants Lloyd D. Hayes Jr. and Roger Heaps kidnapped and violently assaulted a woman they knew.

They threatened her with a knife and drove her to one of their homes. The three confined her by binding her with electrical cords, stabbed her in both legs and beat her, according to prosecutors.

She suffered a broken rib, a broken finger, four stab wounds, bruises, an injury to her left arm, and blunt-force injuries to her head and face, causing her eyes to swell shut.

Rhodes was charged with multiple counts of attempted murder, armed violence and aggravated domestic battery. He was also charged with unlawful use of a weapon and being a felon in possession of a gun.

Some of the aggravated kidnapping and aggravated domestic battery charges and a gun charge were dropped.

Heaps pleaded guilty in January 2024 to one count of armed violence and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The case against Hayes is pending. His next court date is Sept. 12.

A sentencing hearing for Rhodes is scheduled for Sept. 25. He could be sentenced to six to 30 years in prison.