A hearing has been continued for a former Aledo man seeking post conviction relief in a criminal sexual assault case. 24 year old Ryan Bell is serving 20-years in prison, but wants a new trial. His latest argument involves a mandatory supervised release issue after he serves his sentence, but Mercer County State’s Attorney Greg McHugh says that matter  is taken care of through the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. He is asking the court to dismiss the petition.
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The Illinois Prisoner Review Board is expected to render an opinion within 90 days. A new court date has been set for February 8th. Bell was turned down in a post-conviction petition back in 2009. He pled guilty to a Class 1 felony of criminal sexual assault in October of 2006 and received the 20-year prison term the following May. The charge stemmed from a May of 2006 incident involving a 15-year-old girl at an underage drinking party in Aledo. In September of 2008, his sentence and conviction was affirmed by the Illinois Supreme Court. The decision followed a similar ruling by the 3rd District Appellate Court in Ottawa. Bell is currently incarcerated at the Graham Correctional Center in Hillsboro, Illinois. He was asking to be transferred to the Mercer County Jail until the post-conviction matter is decided, but that request was denied in September.