Man pleads guilty in Whiteside County sexual assault case

MORRISON – A former Clinton, Iowa, man has been sentenced to six years in state prison after pleading guilty to criminal sexual assault in connection with a 2023 attack on a woman in Fulton.

Branden M. Landry, 32, pleaded guilty and was sentenced Aug. 19 in Whiteside County Circuit Court in Morrison just three weeks before his case was to be presented at a bench trial. Landry was fined $75 and given credit for 336 days served.

According to court records, Landry sexually assaulted the woman, who was an acquaintance, on Sept. 7, 2023. Whiteside County State’s Attorney Terry Costello filed a criminal sexual assault charge Sept. 19 along with a petition asking the court to keep Landry in custody. Landry, considered homeless at the time, was arrested on the warrant that same day in Dixon.

Whiteside County Associate Judge James F. Heuerman on Oct. 27, 2023, ruled Landry was mentally unfit to stand trial and ordered him to undergo treatment. On April 19, the court determined Landry was fit to stand trial. A hearing April 29 led to his continued detention because of the danger he presented to the community, according to court documents.

Landry, who also is formerly of Rochelle, has no criminal history in Whiteside County and no felony history in Ogle County, court records show.