A rural Aledo man has retained a private attorney in a criminal sexual assault case filed against him. Jonathan Ruud is now representing 30 year old Eric Maurice Thirtyacre. He was arrested earlier this month following an investigation by the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department. Thirtyacre is facing Class 1 and Class 2 felonies in connection with an incident involving a victim between the ages of 13 and 17. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges with a pre-trial conference scheduled for July 17th in Mercer County Circuit Court. Thirtyacre posted ten-percent of his $50,000 bond and was released from the Mercer County Jail late last week.
