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Crime & Safety

Tinley Man Pleads Guilty to Sexual Abuse in Mokena Park

David J. Potter, 20, of the 17800 block of 66th Court in Tinley Park, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, receiving probation and mandatory registry as a sex offender.

A man has been sentenced to two years probation for having sex with a 13-year-old girl.

David J. Potter, 20, of the 17800 block of 66th Court in Tinley Park, agreed to register as a sex offender as part of a plea deal offered by the state. He  just as pretrial hearings were set to begin Wednesday.

Potter had consensual sex with the girl in a Mokena park after they met this summer at a Tinley Park roller rink. The girl’s parents reportedly contacted police once they learned of the incident.

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For the rest of his life, Potter will have to register with his local police department as a sex offender. If he fails to, the state can bring separate felony charges against him.

Had he gone to trial and lost, Potter was facing a maximum penalty of three to seven years behind bars. His criminal record in Will County is clean.

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Following sentencing, the girl’s father said he preferred this outcome to putting his daughter on the stand to testify.

“I’m just glad this whole thing is over,” he said, leaving the courthouse.

Potter remained in jail Wednesday morning on a $150,000 bond, but would later be released. Between hearings in Judge Daniel J. Rozak’s courtroom, a police officer involved in the case asked Potter how he had been holding up.

“The food sucks,” he replied, looking perturbed but smiling.

A sheriff’s deputy leaned in and said, “It’s jail, kid, not kindergarten.”

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