Trial set for man charged with locking daughter in basement, believing she was possessed
An April 29 trial date has been set for a Waukegan man accused of locking his 10-year-old daughter in a basement because, he is said to have told authorities, she was demonically possessed.
Randy Swopes, 49, recently was deemed mentally fit to stand trial by the Illinois Department of Public Health, and his attorney, Jason Powell, chose not to dispute the findings.
Swopes said in court Tuesday he wants to represent himself when he faces trial on a felony charge of unlawful restraint and two misdemeanor counts of child endangerment. If convicted of the felony, he could be sentenced to a maximum three years in prison.
He also asked Judge Victoria Rossetti to set bail, but she delayed a hearing on that request until Thursday while a pretrial bond report is prepared.
Swopes and his wife, Katherine, were charged July 17 after police learned the girl was forced to live in their Liberty Street home's basement because her parents believed she was "possessed by a demon," authorities said.
In subsequent court appearances, Randy Swopes claimed Lake County judges, lawyers and politicians were part of rituals that involved drinking blood and sexually assaulting children. He admitted during one court appearance that he previously spent time in a psychiatric health facility.
Swopes was deemed unfit to stand trial during a fitness hearing in December. After a month in a mental health facility, he was deemed mentally fit and returned to Lake County earlier this month.
Katherine Swopes, 49, is free on a $25,000 signature bond. As part of her conditions of release, she is under a 24-hour curfew, prohibited from having drugs or alcohol and may not have contact with her husband, the victim or her three other children, ages 7, 13 and 15.
Randy Swopes remains in the Lake County jail without bond until Thursday's hearing.