Three Year Prison Term Handed Down In Rural Aledo Child Abuse Case

A rural Aledo man has been sentenced to three years in prison for abusing a three-year-old child. 32 year old Robert Gates received the punishment Monday afternoon in Mercer County Circuit Court after pleading guilty to an amended Class 3 felony charge of aggravated battery to a child in May. Gates was arrested in early January and originally charged with a Class X felony following an investigation involving the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department and Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. The child suffered bruising, three bite marks and was treated at an area hospital, according to Mercer County State’s Attorney Meeghan Lee, who was seeking a six-year prison term. Gates’ attorney was seeking a term of probation for his client, who showed no significant prior criminal record. Judge Peter Church settled for a sentence of three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections with Gates scheduled to report to the Mercer County Jail on Aug. 17.