Aurora man receives 4 years for 2012 Batavia offense
A 57-year-old man who has spent time in prison for exposing himself in public was sentenced to four years in prison for a December 2012 incident in Batavia and failing to register as a sex offender.
James E. Rozema, a former Elgin resident whose last known address was an Aurora homeless shelter, pleaded guilty Wednesday to felony public indecency and failure to register as a sex offender when he moved to Aurora, according to prosecutors and court records.
Rozema was arrested in January after Batavia police issued a warrant in response to a report of a man who exposed himself at a business in the 300 block of Randall Road the afternoon of Dec. 20.
Prosecutors said Rozema exposed and fondled himself in front of customers and then left the store. Witnesses later identified him through a photo lineup, prosecutors said.
He also was charged with failing to register as a sex offender after he went to register with Aurora police in December 2012, but had actually moved to the city two months earlier.
According to court records, Rozema had been to prison at least twice for exposing himself and performing lewd acts in public. He pleaded guilty in September 2008 for exposing himself to a woman at a South Elgin store and received two years in prison. He also pleaded guilty and received 18 months in prison for exposing himself in October 2005 to clerks at a store in Batavia while working as a cabdriver.
Under state law, Rozema can have his sentence halved for good behavior while in prison and he also will receive credit for 37 days spent in jail since his arrest, authorities said.