A former Lake County Circuit Court probation public service coordinator was sentenced to 18 months of work release and 30 months of probation Wednesday for trading unearned community service credits for money and sex.
Anselmo Magana, 46, of Lindenhurst, had previously pleaded guilty to several counts of official misconduct for providing public service credits to people sentenced to community service work in exchange for cash and sexual favors.
He had only worked with adults on probation, according to authorities.
A state prosecutor had sought a three-year prison term for Magana, while his defense attorney argued for probation and community service.
Judge Victoria Rossetti, in handing down the sentence, noted that Magana had “absolutely no priors,” had taken responsibility for his actions and had met all required conditions while he was out on bond. But she also noted he had used his position to take advantage of those he was supposed to be supervising.
“At the heart of this crime is the dignity of this court,” Rossetti said. “You wouldn’t be here except for your worst moments, which occurred over three years. I have a duty to sentence you for your worst moments.”
Rossetti also sentenced Magana to 200 hours of community service, said he must pay $7,155 in fees and court costs and pay restitution of several hundred dollars to those who had paid him cash for community service credits.
Prior to being sentenced, Magana apologized to the court and for his actions and for embarrassing his family. His wife and children wrote letters of support to the judge seeking leniency, as did several officials and members of his church.
Magana had faced a sentence ranging from probation to five years in prison under a negotiated plea deal in which additional counts of official misconduct were dismissed in exchange for his guilty plea.
Tom Brown, an attorney with the Illinois State’s Attorney’s Office, had prosecuted the case because one of Magana’s relatives formerly worked as a secretary with the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office, and officials said they wanted to avoid any appearance of conflict.
Brown said Magana’s actions “were a crime against the integrity of the judicial system” in requesting a three-year sentence. He had no comment on the sentence that was imposed.
Defense attorney Jed Stone had argued that a sentence of probation was “entirely appropriate” for Magana if combined with a requirement that he serve the community service hours that were not completed due to his actions. Stone referred to that as “symbolic restitution.”
When Rossetti included community service hours in the sentence, she also noted that it was appropriate based on the nature of the crime.
In June 2015, a Lake County Grand Jury indicted Magana on 11 counts of official misconduct.
According to the indictments against him, Magana received money in exchange for service hours on nine occasions and received “sexual favors” from the same woman in two separate incidents.
Undersheriff Ray Rose said after Magana’s arrest that an extensive investigation into Magana included an audit of other probation employees, and there was no evidence that 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.
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Authorities said that in January 2014, an internal probation services investigation was initiated into allegations of misconduct by Magana.
After it was determined the actions involved could potentially be criminal, detectives with the Lake County Sheriff’s Criminal Investigation Division were notified and began to investigate.
Magana was arrested at his former workplace and initially jailed on $250,000 bail, but he has been free from custody since posting bond shortly after.
Brown said the incidents Magana pleaded guilty to occurred in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
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