Man sentenced to probation for slapping, pushing woman off toilet during 2023 altercation

OREGON – A Mount Morris man on June 28 was sentenced to 18 months of probation and four days in jail for slapping a woman and pushing her off a toilet during a Nov. 23, 2023, altercation in a home they shared.

Cory Love, 47, was found guilty of two counts of misdemeanor domestic battery after a three-hour bench trial in April. He was found not guilty of felony aggravated domestic battery.

After hearing testimony from three witnesses and Love, Ogle County Judge John “Ben” Roe ruled that prosecutors had not proven Love intended to strangle the woman after an argument and fight that led into the home’s bathroom. He did find Love guilty of the misdemeanor offenses.

At the sentencing hearing, Roe also ordered Love to abstain from drugs or alcohol, cooperate with drug/alcohol screenings, and enter a domestic violence intervention program. Roe ordered Love not to have any contact with the victim. Love also was ordered to spend 13 days in the Ogle County Jail but received credit for time served, which reduced his jail time to four days.

Before the sentence was rendered, Love told Roe that he “obviously didn’t want to go to jail” but thought putting him jail may help keep him “in line.”

“I want some type of anger management,” Love said. “I lost my cool. I should not have done what I did, but if I go to jail, I will probably lose my job.”

In asking for 24 months of probation, Assistant State’s Attorney Melissa Voss characterized Love’s comments to the court as self-serving.

“The court should not cater to him,” Voss said. “He has committed a crime. Domestic violence is about power and control. Anger management won’t address that.”

Love’s attorney, Ogle County Public Defender Michael O’Brien, asked the court to consider that there was some provocation when the incident occurred. He also said no evidence was presented at the trial to indicate power or control.

“This was a volatile relationship that blew over,” O’Brien said. “If he is sentenced to jail, it is reasonable he could lose his job.”

During the trial, the woman testified that she and Love were arguing when the incident escalated into him slapping her, breaking household items and then pushing her off a toilet. The woman did not report the incident to police, but she said when she began experiencing pain in her chest a few days later, she went to the Rochelle Hospital to be examined.

At the sentencing, she said Nov. 23, 2023, wasn’t the first time that Love had become physical, and also cited his addiction issue as a primary cause. But under cross-examination by O’Brien, she noted that she, too, would sometimes become physical after Love started altercations.

Love testified at the trial that he and the woman had an “on-and-off again” relationship and were arguing back and forth. He admitted to breaking household items to get her attention and said he slapped her on the chin during the argument.

In his ruling, Roe said he reviewed the evidence in the case and determined that it was plausible that Love didn’t intend to strangle the woman while wrestling by the toilet. But he characterized trying to put someone’s head in a toilet as a “despicable act.”

“I want to see you back here in 30 days,” Roe told Love at the sentencing. “Hopefully, I will hear from you on how you are progressing. I’d like to have a handle on what’s going on.”

Roe said he believed that Love’s addiction to alcohol and drugs was a major issue for his criminal history, which includes a burglary charge in 1993 and more recent driving while under the influence of alcohol charges. He said Love had successfully completed DUI court, then relapsed, but noted Love had remained “clean” while waiting for the current case to resolve.

“For the past seven months you’ve been testing clean, and I commend you for that,” Roe said. “But addiction remains an issue. If not for the addiction, you would not be sitting here today in court.”

Roe set a probation review hearing for 9 a.m. Aug. 28.