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John B. "Ben" Roe

The Ogle County State's Attorney's office is responsible for prosecuting juveniles under the age of 17 who violate the State's criminal laws.

Court hearings are closed to the general public. The purpose of the Juvenile Court Act is to make the juveniles accountable for their behavior, to protect the community, and to provide rehabilitation to the juveniles.

Delinquency cases are initiated by a referral from a police officer and often involve juvenile probation. If a minor is taken into custody, a detention hearing will be held within 40 hours to determine whether the minor shall be further held in custody. If a juvenile court judge finds that there is an immediate and urgent necessity for the protection of the minor, or of another, the minor may be detained. The court may order further detention or it may release the minor to home detention or to the custody of a parent or guardian. Non-custody delinquent referrals are forwarded to the State's Attorney's Office for review and may also result in the filing of a juvenile delinquent. Those juveniles referred to court who are found guilty of a crime may be sentenced to either a period of supervision, probation, up to 30 days detention, or commitment to the Illinois Department of Corrections/Juvenile Division until his/her 21st birthday. In serious cases, a minor may be transferred to the adult court system.

The Ogle County State's Attorney's office has a prosecutor assigned to juvenile cases and the Office is also responsible for prosecuting abuse/neglect and dependency cases involving children under the age of 18. Through these proceedings, the State's Attorney's office works with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and various private agencies to make sure that children are living in a safe environment that allows them to grow into adulthood.

Recently, the State's Attorney's office has joined with the Ogle County Probation Department, the courts and other community leaders, to form the Ogle County Juvenile Justice Council. This Council, which receives its authority from the Juvenile Court Act of 1999, 705 ILCS 405/6-12, provides a forum for the development of community-based interagency assessment of the Ogle County juvenile justice system. The Council assists in the development of county programs to prevent juvenile delinquency and makes recommendations to the County Board and community stakeholders for use of resources to aid in delinquency prevention.

John B. "Ben" Roe

March 2007