La Salle sexual assault suspect detained after cutting ankle bracelet

A La Salle man charged with the sexual assault of a 10-year-old was ordered detained Monday after being charged with cutting off his ankle bracelet and trying to flee.

Phillip A. Weeks, 45, appeared in La Salle County Circuit Court and was presented with two new charges: escape, a Class 3 felony carrying two to five years in prison, and criminal damage to government property, a Class 4 felony carrying one to three years, for damage to the monitoring device.

Weeks last week was released from La Salle County Jail with an ankle bracelet and a court order to stay put. According to police and court records, Weeks was picked up in Mendota less than 72 hours after his release and with the ankle bracelet found disabled.

During Monday’s detention hearing, prosecutor Greg Sticka said a tampering alarm was sounded at 6:11 p.m. on Halloween and authorities monitoring the device were unable to get in touch with Weeks. The device showed Weeks on the move between 6:14 p.m. in La Salle and 6:40 p.m. in Mendota. A loss of signal was reported at 8:40 p.m.

At 8:39 a.m. Friday, Sticka said, Mendota police picked up Weeks’ trail through surveillance footage showing him entering a closed tattoo parlor a couple of blocks from the Amtrak station. Police got the owner to let them in, and in time to spot an individual exiting the rear door. The ankle monitor was retrieved in a basement toilet.

Weeks was quickly apprehended. Sticka said in open court Weeks told police he sent for an Uber, removed the device and acknowledged he shouldn’t have been in Mendota.

Weeks’ lawyer, Public Defender Ryan Hamer, said escape and criminal damage are low-level felonies that include probation. Despite the proximity to the train station, Hamer said Weeks was not found with a ticket and there was no evidence he was going to flee the county by rail.

Hamer urged Judge Michael C. Jansz to hand down sanctions – that is, jail Weeks for up to 30 days – rather than revoke home confinement altogether.

But Sticka said Weeks showed “complete disregard” for the terms of release and showed there were no more reasonable efforts to protect the public besides jail.

“All of this done to avoid apprehension – clearly,” Sticka said, adding later. “He blew it off. He didn’t take it seriously.”

Jansz agreed and said there was no reasonable explanation for why Weeks went to Mendota.

Weeks’ controlling charge remains predatory criminal sexual assault, a Class X felony carrying up to 60 years in prison. He was charged following an October 2023 investigation into sexual contact with a girl, then 10 years of age.

Weeks remains set for trial on sexual assault Jan. 6, with a Dec. 27 for a motions hearing.