Justin Atteberry
MARION CO., Ill. - The kid who was convicted of assaulting a baby girl at his mother's daycare in Salem is headed to prison for a long, long time.
Justin Atteberry, now 17, was sentenced yesterday (Wednesday, January 11, 2017) to 22.5 years in Illinois Department of Corrections following a plea agreement reached this past summer after having been charged as an adult in the case a little more than a year ago, when he was but 16.
He admitted in December of 2015 to sexually assaulting a 10-month-old infant girl with a Matchbox-type car, leaving her with injuries significant enough to warrant transfer from Salem Township Hospital to Children's Hospital in St. Louis.
Due to the nature of the charge (a Class X felony) and in accordance with Illinois' Juvenile Court Act, Atteberry was charged as an adult, which means that his crime has been publicized and, more importantly, it means that he'll be listed on the state's Sex Offender Registry if and when he is released from DOC. He must serve 85 percent of his sentence under the law, which means he'll have to serve 19 years, one and a half months. However, he was given credit for time served in the Marion County Jail - 394 days - which cuts off a year and a month from that.
Atteberry has yet to be transferred to IDOC.