Elgin sex offender charged in new assault

A recently paroled sex offender is back in jail on charges he sexually assaulted a mentally disabled woman in Elgin, police said Thursday.

Johnny L. Reed, 43, of the 1300 block of Fleetwood Drive, Elgin, was arrested Sunday for failing to register a change of address as a sex offender.

While in custody, Reed was linked by detectives to the Dec. 14 assault of a 49-year-old female acquaintance who has the mental capacity of a 6- or 7-year-old, Deputy Chief Jeff Swoboda said.

Police said the sexual contact was not forced, at least initially, but because of her disability the would could not give legal consent.

Swoboda said Reed recently was paroled from an 11-year sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections. The Illinois Sex Offender Registry lists him as a sexual predator who was convicted in downstate in Jefferson County for assaulting a 13-year-old in the late 1990s. His parole date was unclear.

On Sunday, officers discovered Reed, a former Bartlett resident, living in an Elgin apartment and arrested him for failing to register the address as required, Swoboda said.

Reed remained in the Kane County jail Thursday on a $150,000 bond, charged with two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault and abuse. The most serious charge is a Class X felony, punishable by six to 30 years in prison.

He is scheduled to appear in court Jan. 8 in front of Kane County Associate Judge Thomas E. Mueller.