Former Illinois RB Steve Feagin charged with rapes that terrorized UIUC campus in '90s
September 19, 2011 12:00 PM
Champaign County authorities have waited years to prosecute ex-running back Feagin
"As soon as that DNA ... hit came in from Florida, I knew we had a chance," said Lockard, who retired in 2000 as a sergeant but continued to work for the department as an evidence technician.
Lockard had kept a pile of old Illini student-staff directories at home. The university no longer publishes the annual directories, which included students' home and campus addresses. Lockard long ago had tossed out most of the books, but to his surprise he had kept the three that covered the years of the rapes.
Working on his own time at night and on weekends, he sorted through 37,665 student names and found 73 from Florida, he said. Subtracting obvious non-suspects, he trimmed the list to 54 and then began researching their histories, including where they had lived as students.
chicagotribune.com
A Texas-based extradition service used by the Champaign County sheriff's office picked Feagin up at a Fort Lauderdale jail on Monday, a trip that cost $1,079. He was booked into the jail in Urbana about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and made his first court appearance Wednesday. His case has been set for the Nov. 15 pretrial call of Judge Heidi Ladd. He's being held in lieu of $10 million bond.
He is charged with six counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, a Class X felony with penalties ranging from six to 30 years in prison upon conviction, meaning a sentence of up to 90 years for Feagin if convicted of all three attacks.
news-gazette.com
"As soon as that DNA ... hit came in from Florida, I knew we had a chance," said Lockard, who retired in 2000 as a sergeant but continued to work for the department as an evidence technician.
Lockard had kept a pile of old Illini student-staff directories at home. The university no longer publishes the annual directories, which included students' home and campus addresses. Lockard long ago had tossed out most of the books, but to his surprise he had kept the three that covered the years of the rapes.
Working on his own time at night and on weekends, he sorted through 37,665 student names and found 73 from Florida, he said. Subtracting obvious non-suspects, he trimmed the list to 54 and then began researching their histories, including where they had lived as students.
chicagotribune.com
A Texas-based extradition service used by the Champaign County sheriff's office picked Feagin up at a Fort Lauderdale jail on Monday, a trip that cost $1,079. He was booked into the jail in Urbana about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and made his first court appearance Wednesday. His case has been set for the Nov. 15 pretrial call of Judge Heidi Ladd. He's being held in lieu of $10 million bond.
He is charged with six counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, a Class X felony with penalties ranging from six to 30 years in prison upon conviction, meaning a sentence of up to 90 years for Feagin if convicted of all three attacks.
news-gazette.com
Filed under: Former Illini, Illini Football
