Joliet Strangling Defendant Regains Freedom After Pretrial Release Hearing Before Judge

JOLIET. IL — A 60-year-old Joliet man who is accused of brutally assaulting and strangling a woman who was later taken to the St. Joseph's Hospital to undergo a sexual assault kit has been released from Will County's Jail following a recent pretrial detention hearing that went in his favor.

Will County Associate Judge Derek Ewanic ruled in favor of criminal defendant James Hutchinson, who was arrested by Joliet police last week on charges of aggravated domestic battery and two crimes of domestic battery. However, at the detention hearing, the Will County State's Attorney's Office was unsuccessful in its attempt to keep Hutchinson denied under the SAFE-T-Act.

According to the criminal complaint, Hutchinson is accused of strangling the woman, grabbing her body and striking her body.

Prosecutors noted that on Sept. 30, Joliet police responded to the 1300 block of Dearborn Street for a sexual assault and domestic violence report. Officers spoke with the victim at the scene, who authorities say recorded a portion of her conversations with the defendant.

The recording showed the young woman being told by Hutchinson, to "bend over and grab your ankles" as he made several more sexually graphic and explicit comments, according to court files.

When the woman is asking Hutchinson why he is saying these things as she's crying, Hutchinson is accused of touching her inappropriately, the court files show.

When she pushed him away, Hutchinson hit her in the face and across her body 15 times, prosecutors said.

Eventually, Hutchinson put both of his hands around her neck and applied pressure for 20 seconds, impeding her normal breathing, the complaint alleges. After he released her, Hutchinson then grabbed her neck with his forearm and put her in a headlock for another 20 seconds, court records say.

As Hutchinson strangled the young woman, she hit him in the groin to get away, prosecutors say she later told Joliet police, saying she was fighting him off any way she could. The woman also told police that "she has experienced physical and sexual abuse from James on multiple occasions, approximately five to 10 times unreported," court files show.

Inside the house, Joliet police found signs of a struggle, including curtains and items knocked down. The victim was taken to St. Joe's to undergo a sexual assault kit, prosecutors noted, and "James had scratches on his chest and markings on the side of his head behind his ear consistent with being struck by (her) in defense," prosecutors noted.

At Joliet's police station, Hutchinson requested a lawyer and allowed the police his phone "to dump to verify claims that he was having a consensual sexual relationship with" the victim, prosecutors explained. "Officers took the defendant's phone and started the process for a phone data extraction."

After three days in the jail, Hutchinson regained his freedom from Judge Ewanic, who ordered Hutchinson to be on GPS monitoring and electronic monitoring "until further order of court." He must also stay away from the victim and the house in the 1300 block of Dearborn Street.