Date: 17th January, 2019 In his first court appearance since 10th December, former pinball designer John Trudeau today pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of child pornography. John Trudeau Trudeau was arrested on 25th August, 2017 following a raid on his home in Glendale Heights, around 20 miles west of Chicago. The raid was part of a wider investigation into the production and distribution of child pornography during which his name surfaced. He initially pleaded not guilty and was released on bail. However, he was subsequently re-arrested on 17th May, 2018 on a different set of charges of criminal sexual abuse of a female family member. The severity of those charges – and two more which were added in July – meant Trudeau was held in jail until the case could be heard. Those charges are ongoing, with the next court hearing scheduled for tomorrow. He has pleaded not guilty to all five charges. His guilty pleas in the original two charges appear to be part of a plea bargain deal struck with prosecutors and agreed by the judge. They are ‘stipulation of facts’ guilty pleas which means that he accepts the truth of the facts presented without directly admitting guilt. The court records for the two charges Exact details of the sentence are not yet confirmed, but from court records it appears Trudeau was given a custodial sentence of three years with credit given for his time served in jail of 246 days. The three year sentence He will be registered as a convicted sex offender, will have his DNA taken and stored by the Illinois Department of Correction, and will be liable for a fine of $1,000 as well as court costs of more than $2,200 and legal fees yet to be determined. Pinball News has been providing regular updates on the progress of both sets of charges and we will update this report with more details of the plea bargain as soon as we get them, along with the outcome of tomorrow’s hearing.
