A 46-year-old Kewanee man pleaded guilty to one count of criminal sexual assault of a child under 13 years of age on Thursday, June 20, 2024. Christopher Woodruff has been in the Henry County Jail on a $250,000 bond since March of 2023. Christopher Woodruff pleaded guilty to count one in an open plea, with a 30-year prison sentence cap, and the remaining two counts are dismissed per the plea agreement. A Sentencing Hearing is scheduled for August 19, 2024, at 3 PM. A presentencing investigation was ordered.
On February 7, 2023, the Kewanee Police Department received a report of sexual assault to a minor. The child said Woodruff had performed sexual acts against her. The child said Woodruff had touched her and himself numerous times before she turned 11 years old. In March 2023, Christopher Woodruff admitted to touching the child.
Woodruff committed the offenses between November 1, 2019, and February 2023. Christopher Woodruff was originally charged with three (3) counts of Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault/Victim under 13 (Class X Felony). A Class X felony is not probationable and carries a sentence of 6 to 60 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections followed by three years to life of mandatory supervised release.