PEKIN, Ill. (AP) - A central Illinois man has been sentenced to 32 years in prison for possessing child porn and trying to kill a man who prevented his knife-wielding assault on a room full of children in 2015.
Dustin Brown, 20, learned his punishment Wednesday after pleading guilty but mentally ill in November to possessing child porn, attempted murder and armed violence, the Pekin Daily Times (https://bit.ly/2ig9tVA ) reported.
Tazewell County Circuit Judge Paul Gilfillan said Brown’s mental conditions, including an intellect years behind his age, and sexual abuse he said he allegedly suffered as a child may have contributed to his actions, but that Brown understood they were criminal.
Two of the charges stemmed from his October 2015 attack when he entered the Morton Public Library with two knives, saying he was going to kill more than a dozen children. Army veteran James Vernon, then 75, was injured as he fought Brown, managing to pin Brown onto a table and hold him until help arrived.
Brown told police that the children at the library had become targets of revenge after he was charged in February 2015 with 22 counts of possessing child pornography. Brown was free on bond when the incident at the library occurred.
Gilfillan said the community needs protection from someone “who commits fairly horrific crimes” that stem from disturbed fixations that will remain difficult to control.
Brown will be eligible to receive mental health treatment, but must serve his time in prison, Assistant State’s Attorney Kevin Johnson said previously. Time spent since the incident and good behavior could reduce Brown’s prison term to about 22 years. State law requires Brown to serve at least 85 percent of his total term.
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Information from: Pekin Daily Times, https://www.pekintimes.com
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