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Man found guilty of sex assault Ex-Wonder Lake resident faces 6 to 60 years for incident involving child By CHELSEA McDOUGALL cmcdougall@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – Jurors returned a guilty verdict for a former Wonder Lake man convicted of molesting a young family member. Evan A. Staron, 30, faces six to 60 years in prison on the predatory criminal sexual assault of a child charge. He is
also accused in two additional incidents of sexually touching underage family members. He will be tried on each allegation separately and faces a mandatory life sentence if convicted on all. He was immediately remanded into custody. A sentencing date was not set. Staron, the jury found, molested a female family member
in 2007 when she was 5 years old. The girl came out in 2013 with the allegations, as did her sister and cousin. One of the girls first accused Staron in 2012, but no one called the authorities at the time. Staron has maintained his innocence. His defense attorney, Paul DeLuca, said the girls concocted the allegations, but Robert Zalud, the
Colo. shooter gets life in prison
lead prosecutor on the case, said the girls had no motive to make it up. Earlier in deliberations, juror misconduct nearly caused a mistrial, when it was discovered a juror brought to deliberations six to seven booklets titled “Citizens Rule Book” and handed them to the others. The juror, William Snyder,
told the judge the booklet contained information about the Constitution, Bill of Rights and jury service. However, a copy of the booklet revealed it includes information on how to hang a jury and cause a mistrial. “No JUROR [sic] can ever be punished for voting ‘Not Guilty!’ ” the booklet reads. “Any juror can, with impu-
nity, choose to disregard the instructions of any judge or attorney in rendering his vote. If only one JUROR [sic] should vote ‘Not Guilty’ for any reason, there is no conviction and no punishment at the end of the trial. Thus, those acting in the name of government must come before the
See GUILTY, page A4
REPORT FINDS MORE WOMEN STARTING THEIR OWN BUSINESSES
By SADIE GURMAN The Associated Press CENTENNIAL, Colo. – Twelve jurors failed to agree on a death sentence for Colorado theater shooter James Holmes on Friday, prompting shocked sobs from victims, police officers and his own mother. The former neuroscience graduate student will instead spend the rest of his life in prison for mass murder. The nine women and three men said they could not reach a unanimous verdict on each murder count. That automatically eliminates the death penalty for Holmes, who blamed his killings of 12 people on mental illness. Crystal Lake-native John Larimer was among those killed in the 2012 theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado. Larimer, 27, died protecting his girlfriend, Julia Vojtsek, formerly of Algonquin, during a midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises.” The verdict came as a surprise. The same jury earlier rejected Holmes’ insanity defense, finding him capable of understanding right from wrong when he carried out the assault that injured 70. Jurors also previously moved closer to the death penalty when they quickly determined the heinousness of Holmes’ crimes outweighed his mental illness. As the sentence was read, Holmes’ mother, Arlene, who had asked the jury to spare her son’s life, leaned her head against her husband’s shoulder and began sobbing. Tears broke out across the courtroom. In the back, Aurora police officers who responded to the bloody scene
Matthew Apgar – mapgar@shawmedia.com
Mary Behrens poses for a portrait Tuesday inside her store, Kitchen Outfitters, in Crystal Lake. A recent report shows the number of female business owners in on the rise. By ALLISON GOODRICH agoodrich@shawmedia.com
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lmost two years ago, Mary Behrens was in need of an outlet and, around the same time, she noticed Crystal Lake was in need of a kitchenware business. So Kitchen Outfitters was born at 64 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake. “I was lucky enough to be a stayat-home mom, but I’ve also had a variety of other jobs, from working at the Health Bridge Fitness Center to working at a coffee shop as a barista,” Behrens said. “Those were fun, but I feel like I’ve found my purpose with Kitchen Outfitters.” In Crystal Lake and across the country, she is far from alone in her status as a female business owner.
Women-owned firms on the rise Female entrepreneurs in county part of growing business trend
Between 1997 and 2015, the number of women-owned firms in the U.S. swelled 74 percent, growth that bounded past that of the average total number of businesses by one and a half times. That’s according to the recently published 2015
State of Women-owned Businesses Report from American Express OPEN. The report said, as of this year, there are just beyond 9.4 million businesses in the country that are run by women, collectively gener-
ating almost $1.5 trillion in revenue and more than 7.9 million jobs. In the county, women-owned businesses are everywhere, from your local salon to a town’s local bakery to public relations and accounting firms. From the get-go, Behrens said she was surprised at how infused the local business arena was with female cohorts. “Especially right here in the downtown area,” she said, adding her store is sandwiched between two more women-owned establishments. “It’s really kind of unbelievable.” All three businesses, according to the owners, began in the past two or three years. In the report’s context, that makes them part of
See BUSINESSES, page A4
See PRISON, page A4
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Voters loving the show After raucous first debate, the rowdy field of Republican presidential hopefuls get back on the campaign trail / A5
Coaches Across Continents R-B grad and junior defender at Upper Iowa University, Schinto teaches soccer in Brazil / C1
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