Editor’s note: Defendant Charles Von Holten has plead guilty to Child Sexual Assault and Child Sexual Abuse of two granddaughters. The plea agreement, drafted Thursday, April 14, 2022, offers Von Holten four years of probation. April 19 update: The case will come before Honorable Judge Trish Senneff on Wednesday, June 8, at 1:00 p.m.
The crest of the Whiteside County Courthouse hill, 200 E. Knox Street, Morrison, IL, was the setting for a Victims’ Rights Rally, at 1:00 p.m., on a chilly Monday, April 18, 2022. School was still out for spring break, so lots of children were available to participate in their first public demonstration. That was apropos of the situation that brought 120 people, spanning three-to-four generations, to this event, including the Editor.
Quietly 119 people stood together. Many displayed signs clearly stating their displeasure about a plea bargain initiated by State’s Attorney Terry Costello. Von Holten agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of four years probation.
A Quad City television station filmed them, and some folks were interviewed.
The group processed south on Cherry Street to the corner of U. S. Highway 30.
