The trial for a former Lake County probation officer accused of trading time-credit rewards to adults on probation for money and sexual favors was delayed Thursday, and a possible plea deal is being explored, according to his attorney.
A grand jury indicted Anselmo Magana, of Lindenhurst, in June on 11 counts of official misconduct. He allegedly had been unlawfully awarding court-ordered service hours to probation clients, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the indictment, Magana received money in exchange for service hours on nine occasions, and received “sexual favors” from the same woman in two separate incidents.
In all, four women and two men on probation received the credits, officials said.
On Thursday morning, a trial scheduled for next Tuesday was rescheduled to April 18. Before that date, a prosecutor from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and Magana’s defense attorney, LaTonya Burton, plan to attend a closed meeting with Rossetti to discuss a possible resolution to the case without a trial, Burton said.
A case management hearing on Magana’s case is scheduled March 3.
Magana is being prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office because one of his relatives formerly worked as a secretary with the State’s Attorney’s Office.Officials said, while she was not involved in any way with the case, they wanted to avoid any appearance of conflict.
Undersheriff Ray Rose said that the extensive investigation into Magana included an audit of other probation employees and there was no evidence any other probation officers were involved.
The adults on probation were not required to make up the hours involved in the allegations, in part, Rose said, out of consideration for the time they spent cooperating with investigators on the case. The probation clients involved had been convicted of low-level crimes, he said.
The charges against Magana are Class 3 felonies carrying a potential prison sentence of two to five years in prison upon conviction.
Authorities said that in January of 2014, an internal probation services investigation was initiated into allegations of misconduct by a Lake County Adult Probation Public Service coordinator.
After it was determined the actions involved could potentially be criminal, detectives with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division were notified and began to investigate.
More Top Picks Best New Balance Shoes For Standing All Day
Following interviews with numerous individuals, Magana was arrested and charged.
Twitter @jimnewton5