35 year-old Steven A. Rigney of Morrisonville appeared in custody with Public Defender Greg Grigsby in a courtroom at the Christian County Courthouse on Friday morning. The State filed a charge on Thursday of Criminal Sexual Assault, a Class 1 felony. Rigney is accused of sexually abusing a minor child on multiple occasions from March to May in 2015. He was arrested on Wednesday, following a lengthy investigation by local law enforcement. In court today, Grigsby requested a preliminary hearing to be held. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for March 14 at 10 a.m.
The possible penalties of the Criminal Sexual Assault charge include a mandatory 4-30 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections and 2 years to lifetime of mandatory supervised release. Bond is still set at $500,000.
In other Christian County court action, 22 year-old Robert A. Stivers of Pana appeared in custody in a courtroom at the Christian County Courthouse on a bond reduction motion hearing, as he is represented by Public Defender Greg Grigsby. Stivers is facing a charge of Aggravated Battery to a Child under the age of 13, which is a Class X felony. In court on Friday, it was granted that the bond reduction motion be pushed back to February 22 at 10 a.m. It is scheduled on the same day of the preliminary hearing that will also start at 10 a.m. A motion to preserve the evidence was granted in court. Christian County State's Attorney Michael Havera also stated they do not know the results of the autopsy at this time. Stivers is currently being held on $1 million cash bond.
The possible penalties are 6-30 years in prison and is non-probationable, followed by four years of mandatory supervised release. Stivers must serve 85% of that sentence. The case involves Stivers’ four month old child that was airlifted from Pana Community Hospital on February 5 to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. The infant passed away on February 8 in the early morning hours.
Stay tuned to Regional Radio News and taylorvilledailynews.com for the latest in updates and information regarding both cases.
