Tampico man sentenced to 4 years in prison for sex abuse

MORRISON – A Tampico man has been sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

Dalton Goss, 26, pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal and was sentenced June 7 in Whiteside County court. A second charge of aggravated criminal sexual abuse was dismissed as part of the plea agreement. Goss was fined $6,000.

According to court records, Goss had sexual contact with a victim who was more than five years younger than him in July 2019. Goss was formally charged Sept. 4, 2019, and released after posting bond.

Goss pleaded guilty in February 2023 as part of the plea deal. He made a motion in January to withdraw his guilty plea, but in March made a motion to withdraw that motion, leading to his sentencing earlier this month.

Goss will serve his sentence concurrently to another case in which he pleaded guilty to aggravated driving under the influence and not having a valid driver’s license. He was charged with that offense June 23, 2020, and pleaded guilty Feb. 8, 2023.

Under that plea agreement, he was sentenced to one year in prison and fined $2,000. A second charge of aggravated DUI/no driver’s license and charges of driving on a suspended license, driving 21 to 25 mph over the speed limit and operating an uninsured motor vehicle were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.